“A momentary drop in power system voltage such as due to lightning strikes to power transmission lines may have a large impact, such as the stoppage of production lines in factories,” said Murata. “Furthermore, in an advanced information society, data centres and factories that manufacture high value-added products, such as precision instruments, require a more stable power supply than ever before.”

Inside is a ‘Fortelion’ olivine-type iron phosphate lithium-ion battery made by Tohoku Murata Manufacturing, combined with an ac-dc converter from Meidensha, or one from Yamabishi.

“Murata’s container-type energy storage system uses olivine-type iron phosphate as the cathode material, which has a high safety standard without concerns of fire and realises a useful lifespan of up to fifteen years. In addition, the developed system provides a higher amount of power than that of general lithium-ion batteries, which leads to installation space savings,” said Murata. “Moreover, this product also has a demand response function that can help to level power supply by making use of energy storage to achieve efficient energy use.”

Under development is 2C charge capability and 6C discharge, and to applications beyond instantaneous voltage drop compensation and demand response are being investigated, such as mitigation of short-term fluctuations and adjustment of frequencies, said the firm.

The container battery system was on show at Smart Grid Expo in Tokyo.