E-Stream’s mission as a technology company in the field of battery storage systems is to create the energy turnaround and make a significant contribution to an efficient circular economy, inspired and motivated by the vision of a clean, sustainable, and environmentally conscious lifestyle as well as a resource- and energy-saving economy. Every day, the company’s highly qualified staff works on solutions to improve the efficiency of renewable energy use and accelerate the adoption of electromobility. It is now or never to take action! E-Stream is spending all their creative energy into safeguarding, improving, and facilitating the lives of current and future generations.
Easy Engineering: What are the main areas of activity of the company?
E-Stream: Based on its exclusive and patented e.quikk technology, E-Stream is currently working on the development and production of Li-Ion battery storage systems for industrial and residential applications. A revolutionary electrical and mechanical connection method of cylindrical battery cells lies at the heart of e.quikk. The breakthrough method allows each cylindrical battery cell to non-destructively be removed from the storage units. This is comparable to a software update which improves the E-Stream battery systems. The worn-out battery cells are extracted from the battery modules and get replaced during this process. This considerably extends the lifetime and reduces the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of E-Stream energy storage systems. System components, energy and raw material resources are used sustainably with this principle. The non-destructive removal of used battery cells that no longer meet the requirements of certain products allows them to be operated for years in 2nd life applications with lower power requirements and to operate independent of their 1st life application. Since battery cells contain critical raw materials (lithium, natural graphite) as well as valuable metals (copper, aluminum, nickel, manganese, cobalt), using 2nd life cells is of high strategic, economic, and environmental importance. In addition to a multitude of technical advantages, the e.quikk technology is characterized by a non-destructive disassembly process of battery storage systems which are reversible.
Due to the significantly simplified separation of raw materials, enormous savings in time, costs and energy can be generated in the recycling process of E-Stream battery systems, paving the way for a sensible and effective circular economy.
E-Stream is constantly developing and optimizing the e.quikk technology for new applications and market areas. For example, traction batteries for electric vehicles (EV), batteries for fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEV), as well as portable battery solutions for commercial and residential use.
The e.quikk technology is a game changer within our energy era. It also supports the fulfillment of climate goals as the technology focuses to make full use of the available raw materials and resources! These objectives are critical for reducing reliance on the Asian market, particularly in today’s globe.
We create battery products that are cost efficient, future-proof, safe, durable, and truly green!
E.E: What’s the news about new products?
E-Stream: Mechanical load testing on the latest generation of industrial and residential battery modules were recently completed satisfactorily. UN38.3 transport testing soon will follow, which is required for the shipment of battery products, and IEC 62619 certification for industrial storage systems. Within the next evolutionary stage, we’ll add a liquid conditioning to the industrial storage product family. With this option the system becomes suitable for high-performance applications and/or difficult environments. Industrial storage systems are used for a variety of grid services, including peak shaving, grid stabilizing and microgrids, as well to support the fast charging infrastructure and solar and wind farms. We’re also working on a product line of residential storage systems that will be a key component of smart home solutions. Here we focus on “sector coupling,” i.e. the networking and intelligent operation management of several system components, which typically include a battery storage system and inverter, as well as a solar system, wallbox, and heat pump.
As part of a development order from ICM – Institut Chemnitzer Maschinen- und Anlagenbau, E-Stream completed and delivered a battery pack with an integrated energy distribution unit by the end of July 2021. The application is a future-oriented electromobility hybrid system (FCEV) that includes a fuel cell stack and a traction battery.
E-Stream developed a high-performance liquid cooled battery storage system as part of a fuel cell battery hybrid for long range vehicles. This development mission is part of a national funded project by the BMBF – German Federal Ministry of Education and Research – in collaboration with the University of Kassel, BMW, Hella, and Sumida.
We are also proud to announce that we will soon be expanding our product portfolio of cylindrical battery cells, adding LFP cells and high-performance NMC cells in particular.
E.E: What are the ranges of products?
E-Stream: We provide technological solutions for a wide range of products and applications for a wide range of market segments through e.quikk. We primarily sell three types of products: battery cells, industrial storage systems, and household storage systems.
E-Stream can currently provide the following 3 product types:
Industrial energy storage systems like the IESS18650 with 101 kWh
- For grid stabilization and buffer storage for peak shaving
- For large (autarkic) commercial application and PV plants
- To support the fast charging infrastructure when the grid is insufficient to provide the power for fast charging of EVs
Residential energy storage systems with up to 24. 9 kWh
- For private (autarkic) households e.g. with integrated PV modules
- For small (autarkic) commercial application and small PV plants
Cylindrical Li-Ion battery cells
- Format 18650 from 1.1 Ah to 3.5 Ah (LFP and NMC)
- Format 21700 from 4.0 Ah to 5.0 Ah (NMC)
E.E: At what stage is the market where you are currently active?
E-Stream: The energy storage market currently is changing from short-term thinking towards sustainable strategy: In the past the only factor which matters was the purchase price per kWh. In other words, the only decisive point was which system is the cheapest to get for energy storing.
But this short-term thinking now changed towards another decisive factor: The Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). Of course, the purchase price also counts in the TCO but when you have a system which is capable to be refurbished for e.g. It can be much more efficient than purchasing a new system.
For the Li-Ion cell market the current situation is ridiculously. Because the demand of cells clearly exceeds the number of available cells. Therefore, we are in the luckily position to have secured our long-term contract with our production partner in Asia for our battery cells.
E.E: What can you tell us about market trends?
E-Stream: In two words: Dramatically increasing.
The entire global battery market is rated to have a CAGR of 29% from 2020 to 2028. This leads to a total output of more than 1400GWh in 2028, starting from 185 GWh in 2020 which is an increase by a factor of 7.6! Reputable sources like Bloomberg rate the market in 2030 to more than 2000 GWh, a factor greater 10 compared to 2020.
The automotive industry is one of the main drivers of this trend with an expected quantity of 26.8 million EV batteries in 2028 (~1000 GWh).
Along with the automotive trend a strong growth of stationary storage systems is expected to support the charging infrastructure with approx. 110GWh in 2028 (11.8 GWh in 2020).
E.E: What are the most innovative products marketed?
E-Stream: Our battery modules based on the e.quikk technology, which constitute the foundation of any scalable battery storage system, such as industrial and domestic storage as well as traction batteries, are the key products. E-Stream’s modules offer several technical advantages due to the revolutionary connection technology of battery cells, in addition to factors of sustainability, energy and resource conservation. e.quikk permits the technology to be employed in a wide range of products thanks to its innovative connecting topologies and adjustable shaping, allowing for the most efficient use of installation space and required electrical characteristics. Hotspots within the battery modules are reduced by sophisticated thermal management, resulting in maximum thermal homogeneity and hence lifetime and safety. Depending on the system needs, the modules can also be supplied with air cooling or liquid tempering. This method provides individually fused battery cells, which are separated from the entire system in the event of a short circuit, in addition to the well-known safety measures. Thermal runaway, which generally results in fires, explosions, and mechanical damage, is reduced to a minimum with this technical approach. The e.quikk battery modules’ robust design also allows them to be used in applications with significant mechanical loads. Simple assembly and non-destructive disassembly processes ensure that E-Streams’s battery storage solutions may be industrialized without the use of expensive equipment or time-consuming production processes, demonstrating the e.quikk technology’s viability.
E.E: What estimations do you have for 2022?
E-Stream: We aim to make our products and technologies available to the general public, ensuring a sustainable future in the field of renewable energy. We are now project partners in several funded projects, and we plan to expand our effect in 2022. Furthermore, we are working to raise market recognition of our company and technology in 2022, allowing us to achieve our long-term objectives more quickly. Our mission is to have a long-term, sustainable impact on the future of energy.