EVLO Energy Storage Inc. “doubled down on energy density” with its latest battery energy storage system (BESS) EVLO SYNERGY.

With up to double the capacity of its previous battery system - EVLOFLEX that maxed out at 2.5 megawatt-hours (mW-h) - EVLO SYNERGY will provide enough power to operate for two to four hours, the Varennes, Que.-based company’s vice-president of sales and business development Martin Rheault told Sustainable Biz Canada.

SYNERGY is EVLO’s sixth battery product, Rheault said, and is designed to be modular. Units, which can fit in a 20-foot container, can be linked to boost the energy capacity for large projects or installations.

“It’s a fact that projects are getting bigger and bigger, so I think the ability to put hundreds of SYNERGY units side-by-side on a similar site is really what we had in mind while working on this solution,” he said.

EVLO, a subsidiary of Quebec utility Hydro-Quebec, designs and supplies battery storage systems, along with services such as commissioning and maintenance. To manage the energy of its battery systems, it created the software platform EVLOGIX.

Meeting the market’s energy density demand

Demand for energy density is pushing the battery industry, Rheault said. “We listen to customers and the industry at its core, battery density is evolving fast.”

Higher energy density is a favourable trait because the storage systems require less space but output more energy, Rheault explained.

Rheault told Sustainable Biz Canada in 2023 the company was facing market pressure for denser battery products, and was working on next-generation systems as a result.

Compared to EVLOFLEX that can be configured at 1.65, two or 2.5 mW-h, SYNERGY has five mW-h of capacity.

EVLO SYNERGY also can operate for longer before the batteries need replacing: EVLOFLEX is designed to run for approximately 7,300 cycles over 20 years; EVLO SYNERGY up to 9,125 cycles for over 25 years.

It is designed to operate at temperatures between -30 C to 55 C. For fire safety assurance, EVLO SYNERGY is certified by the National Fire Protection Association and UL.

EVLO SYNERGY is is targeted at utilities, independent power producers and developers.

EVLO expects to deploy EVLO SYNERGY in geographic areas where it is already operating, Rheault said. In Canada, it has projects in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia; in the U.S., Virginia, California and Vermont.

The company announced Wednesday it would deploy three EVLOFLEX systems in Virginia, totalling 305 mW-h of capacity.

Supporting grid resiliency

Another advantage of BESS highlighted by Rheault is the uplifting of grid resiliency. As more renewable sources power grids around the world, batteries are needed to hold reserve energy for times when the sun doesn’t shine or the wind doesn’t blow.

“Grid resiliency and the broader theme of the energy transition is where SYNERGY-like products are coming into play,” he said. With the growth in renewable energy generation, more batteries are needed, which could be “gamechangers” for some grids, Rheault continued.

Such batteries have played pivotal roles in ensuring electricity supplies weren't interrupted during extreme weather events. Severe heat waves hit Texas and California in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Battery systems in both states helped keep the power flowing.

Citing a market analysis by BloombergNEF, EVLO expects the world’s energy storage capacity to rise to one terawatt-hour by 2030, pushed by decarbonization and the falling cost of batteries.

EVLO’s goal is to reach the gigawatt scale by 2026, and multiple gigawatts of capacity by 2030, Rheault previously told Sustainable Biz Canada. EVLO will have more deals and developments to announce in the coming months.

“The battery energy storage space is evolving at a pace which is surprising, even for people working in this field," Rheault observed. "Everybody playing in this field has the pressure to bring to market the new generation of products quite often.

"It’s a technology that is evolving at a really rapid pace."