Birmingham’s Southern Research this week opened the new Energy Storage Research Center on its engineering campus.
The center’s aim is to speed the development of the next generation of clean and sustainable energy storage technology. It will test chemical, mechanical and thermal energy storage systems. It will also allow research and development from the electric utility industry, academics, government and other entities.
The center is a collaboration of Southern Research with Southern Company through Alabama Power, the Electric Power Research Institute, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the State of Alabama. It uses a rechargeable flow battery system, developed by Avalon Battery of Oakland, Calif.
Serving as an independent research facility, the center will allow users to study how energy storage technology can be used with renewable energy sources, such as solar generation. It will also be used to find improvements to power grids and minimize the carbon footprint inherent in power generation.
Bert Taube, energy storage and renewables program manager in Southern Research’s Energy & Environment division, said this kind of research is necessary for the future of power generation. Roxann Walsh, Southern Company research and development director, said the center will help bring that future into focus.
“The Energy Storage Research Center will broaden our work with stakeholders and technology developers from across the industry to better understand energy storage systems and how to fully use this technology to build the future of energy,” Walsh said.