LiFePO4 - The future for off-grid battery banks?

[littleharbor2]

I figured I'd check this against some available batteries out there.

EG4 LFP: $1500 for 5kwhr, 4kwhr usable: $375/kwhr
-Lifetime ~5000 cycles, cost per lifetime kwhr $0.08

Costco T105: $130 for 1.3kwhr, .6kwhr usable: $216/kwhr
-Lifetime ~500 cycles, cost per lifetime kwhr $0.43

Rolls S6 L16: $395 2.6kwhr 1.3kwhr usable: $303/kwhr
-Lifetime ~1900 cycles, cost per lifetime kwhr $0.16

I built my LFP 11.5 kwh battery for about $1,950.00 Quality Eve cells from a very reputable dealer (shipped from Houston)
10 kwh usable $195 per kwh
5000 cycles cost per kwh 0.04

[SunEagle]

Economics should drive most rational decision making. Scale does favor the larger facilities, but as demonstrated above, the economics are still there at small scale for those with a long term view. I don't know of any examples of Li manufacturers almost giving away their products. Do you?

I haven't done the economics yet but I will bet some POCO's have gotten their large Li battery systems for maybe cost or lower otherwise you would see a rise in electric rates to cover that expense.

I then expect the next set of batteries to be much more expensive to the POCO's who will then pass on that cost to their customers. If you look at what other manufacturers have done in the past to latch onto a market I expect the battery manufacturers to do the same or they will lose investors if the profits drop.

[Ampster]

I haven't done the economics yet....

I then expect the next set of batteries to be much more expensive to the POCO's who will then pass on that cost to their customers. If you look at what other manufacturers have done in the past to latch onto a market I expect the battery manufacturers to do the same or they will lose investors if the profits drop.

Yes, we are in an inflationary spiral including the cost of fuel. I agree rates will probably go up for many reasons. I have done the economics and agree with long time poster, Jflorey, that Lithium storage is long term more economical than FLA.

In California the market is deregulated. Private investor groups are building battery facilities and selling into the spot market or getting paid for providing ressource availability. The projects have been more competitive than gas fired peakers.

[travissand]

And Bitcoin mining sure puts an interesting twist on how we'll use electricity in the future. Considering that a factory with a huge need for electricity in an overpriced area but let's say they buy the rights to an abundance of free energy in a remote part of the world they can instead of transmitting that power use it to mine Bitcoin to buy the electricity they need where they need it. It's an interesting concept.

[Old_Man]

So I'm comparing the cost of AGM deep cycle batteries with LiFePO4 batteries, and it seems that LiFePO4 will win out.

Hear me out...

Goal - Provide 1 kW of power.

Assuming 80% DoD for LiFePO4 and 20%DoD for AGM (Which will give us approximately 5 years for each type of battery), we will need:

x24 3.2V, 16AH of Headway LiFePO4 batteries for a 12.8V, 96AH pack (1.28kW) and

x2 12V, 255AH, Concorde AGM Groupe 8D batteries for 12V, 510AH pack (6.12 kW).

since 80% DoD of 1.28 kW = 1.0 kW and
20% DoD of 6.12 kW = 1.2 kW

Price for x2 Groupe 8D Concorde batteries ~ $1,200
Price for x24 Headway LiFePO4 batteries ~ $600

.. not to mention x24 LiFePO4 batteries only weighs about 30lbs.

I guess the price of the Battery Management System for the LiFePO4 cells and the complexity of the system far exceeds that of the AGM batteries for now. Perhaps the technology is still immature.

Are there any technical barriers from preventing the use of LiFePO4 batteries as solar battery banks? Maybe the discharge rate (100A)?

None, if you have a good MPPT controller.