South Africa new energy battery cabinet cooling modification

Firstly, the local industry depends on imported battery cells as South Africa has limited local technology and does not have large-scale manufacturing capabilities (these cells constitute 60% to 70% of production costs). Supporting the research and innovation activities in battery cells will yield long–term benefits for this industry.

There are already encouraging developments in the local industry in terms of demand for storage solutions. Eskom is now searching for solutions for demand management and it has started procuring battery energy-storage systems (BESS).

Firstly, the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (ITAC) should reconsider the decision on tariffs for fully assembled Li-ion batteries. This needs to be accompanied by anti-dumping measures, which ought to be instituted for bad lithium technology and products such as B-grade and second life cells.

Thirdly, there is limited policy support and related regulatory enforcement in the industry. At present, there are no South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) specifications and standards for the Li-ion battery industry.

So far, foreign-based companies dominate the supply of battery storage for the projects that are in the pipeline. The country risks losing the opportunity produce energy storage batteries locally and to advance the industry. A number of challenges beset the local battery storage industry and active actions are required to unblock them.

The IPP office states, “The expected rise in renewable energy production in the country means that battery storage will become key to managing the electricity grid. The large-scale battery storage capacity will be located at Eskom substations, with the utility buying the stored electricity from the successful bidders”