How big data and the cloud can manage grid batteries

A quiet startup called Greensmith has been building a business out of connecting, controlling and monitoring large batteries installed on the power grid and used for energy storage. Greensmith CEO John Jung explained to me in an interview that his company is bringing distributed computing to the world of energy storage and his connected system and analytics can enable utilities and power companies to efficiently use batteries to better manage the grid.

Greensmith isn’t a battery maker itself, but the company works with battery manufacturers and connects batteries with computing and networks. Then the company’s software can monitor the batteries in real time via the cloud — grabbing data commonly once per second — and also control the charging and discharging of the battery to help utilities with various grid applications.

The power grid works by constantly balancing supply and demand (generation and load) and must be kept at a 60 Hz frequency. That’s a complex and difficult task given today’s grid has little energy storage capacity. Utilities often times use generators to regulate the frequency on the grid, but are increasingly looking at batteries as an alternative. Greensmith’s system can help utilities use batteries for frequency regulation.

Greensmith’s battery management system is also being used alongside clean power, to help solar and wind systems over come the problem of intermittency. Solar power only works when the sun shines and wind power only works when the wind blows. But batteries can be used to release power when the sun and wind die down, helping to smooth over that drop in generation.

For example, one of Greensmith’s battery management systems is being used by solar maker Amonix at the Cal Poly campus in Southern California. The battery system is being used to smooth out the power from the solar system during night and peak consumption times.

Greensmith’s software also collects all of the data — like battery health, charge/discharge state, clean power generation levels, utility grid management data — and offers it all up via an interface, so the utility worker can look in one spot and see how the batteries are performing. The company is battery agnostic, and started out by connecting lead acid batteries, but more commonly now connects lithium ion batteries.

Jung says Greensmith has 14 customers for its battery control and monitoring systems including utilities like Hawaii Electric. The company is five years old but has been relatively quiet to date, though had a booth at the DistribuTECH event. Jung tells me that Greensmith raised a series A round of funding, and is looking to close a Series B round by the middle of this year.

Greensmith Energy Management Systems, a leader in distributed energy storage control systems continues its growth, now with fourteen customers, including eight electric utilities using the company’s field-tested suite of product offerings. By expanding its line-up of energy storage systems, Greensmith reached its largest scale yet in 2011, through the sale of its first MW-sized system. Specifically, a major California utility purchased a 1.5 MWh Greensmith distributed energy storage system (DESS) to address grid congestion issues and integrate utility-scale solar generation.

An innovative storage solution to integrate renewable energy generation and improve grid stability

Greensmith’s proprietary control software and Battery Operating System (BOS3) technology enable distributed energy system deployments with centralized operations through an online user portal or via machine-to-machine integration. All of Greensmith’s turn-key DESS units include the latest BOS3 communication technology and software. In addition, each DESS unit is configurable, modular, and scalable from residential to commercial to utility scale deployments.

Greensmith units are configurable, modular, and scalable from residential to commercial to utility scale deployments

Greensmith units are often installed alongside distributed grid assets. For example, three Greensmith installations include both smart EV charging stations and rooftop solar photovoltaic load following. Their suite of control and communication software integrates with an entire network of ancillary devices for the smart grid, an evolving system that can change with the smart grid ecosystem.

Battery-agnostic architecture

Greensmith maintains a battery-agnostic architecture which allows the company to offer multiple battery options to its customers today, and new options in the future as battery technologies continue to advance. The company’s growth is due, in part, to its ability to design systems around applications, as opposed to competitor approaches which tend to develop capabilities around the functionality of one specific battery. This unique approach allows Greensmith to offer effective solutions to customers as well as a high level of flexibility, with solutions that typically rapidly install and take commands in an installation process of only 3 hours. Its battery-agnosticism also allows Greensmith to keep pace with the rapidly changing battery marketplace as technologies and cost structures change.

“Grid operators now understand that energy storage is more than just batteries and inverters. They realize that intelligent control systems and sophisticated software improve the performance of both new and existing grid assets. What’s more, maximizing the benefits of energy storage means having the technology to manage and optimize a distributed, data-rich network. Coupled with our battery-agnostic approach, these capabilities have led to our rapid growth and adoption thus far.”
- John Jung, Greensmith CEO

Rapid growth in 2012

Positive customer testimonials, including referrals and re-orders, underline Greensmith’s credibility as a trusted industry leader and technology innovator who understand how to solve complex, grid-congestion issues. The company plans to expand its customer base in 2012, and anticipates an eight-fold increase in sales. With recent orders from customers abroad, Greensmith expects to continue to grow internationally from its base in the US. Greensmith plans to seek additional growth capital to leverage its growing market leadership and fully capture a growing pipeline of exciting projects. The company’s existing relationships with multiple OEM battery and inverter manufacturers will ensure availability and selectivity of components throughout this period of expansion.

About Greensmith Energy Management Systems

Greensmith systems control distributed energy storage and its many applications, including renewable integration, EV charging, and ancillary services. With over twenty systems installed since 2008, Greensmith is a rapidly growing leader in utility and end-user solutions. The core product offering in the Greensmith solution is its proprietary Battery Operating System (BOS3) which provides battery monitoring, protection, and controls for deployment in a range of applications. Greensmith distributed energy storage systems are modular and battery agnostic, enabling home-size to utility-size systems with multiple battery manufacturers. Greensmith will showcase its suite of products at the 2012 DistribuTech trade show in San Antonio on January 24-26.

For more information, please visit: http://www.greensmith.us.com.

With over 8,400 attendees in 2011, and growth expected for 2012, this year’s Distributech is guaranteed to be the premier event to showcase cutting edge smart grid technology.

Greensmith team at the SV Forum CleanTech Conference. Photo courtesy of DJ Cline.

Earlier this month, Greensmith attended the SV Forum CleanTech Conference at SAP headquarters in Palo Alto.  Greensmith’s CEO John Jung and Market Development Manager Kate Reimer were both in attendance (pictured at right).

Topics of discussion included “The New Electric Vehicle Market,” “Green Building,” “Investment Landscape,” and “Technologies and Innovation.”  The Greensmith team was pleased to field questions from the audience and discuss ongoing initiatives in corporate sustainability.

SV Forum Media Fellow, DJ Cline covered the conference in his blog and provided his photography expertise.