The attempt to rebuild our economies through electricity and clean energy continues to produce momentum around battery technologies, as storage has to play a key role in activating green transition. While renewable energy are clean sources of energy compared to the burning of fossil fuels, their power is not always consistent. In the case of solar energy – which has seen a huge increase in installations in recent years – when the sun stops shining in photovoltaic cells, electricity production turns off.
One solution for regulating the volatility of solar plants is to store energy when there is a gluten (during the day of the day). In this way, stored power can be available at other times, including higher demand periods – which are also usually, later on the day there is less sunshine around.
MoonstoneA clean start -up technology, founded last year in the Netherlands last year, works on a battery -based energy storage system, which has been installed and optimized for solar stations to help them manage this volatility. The team designed a special battery enclosure, electronic Power inverter to connect to the grid and the software needed to integrate and manage the storage system.
Starting states that its approach will allow the solar plants to increase their revenue with the ability to sell more solar energy (including energy price is more attractive) and reduce the cost of the installations, because designing some of the electrical infrastructure. Target solar plants are those that produce at least a few hundred kilowatts – so virtually anything other than household photovoltaic developments.
Specifically, the Moonwatt system is built around sodium ion cells for batteries that will store solar energy. Technology offers an attractive alternative to lithium ion, as production is based on cheaper (and easier sources) raw materials, helping to maintain the cost below.
While sodium ion batteries can have size and weight challenges due to the existence of lower density than lithium ion cells-bypassing certain applications provocative (such as mobility/EVS, where weight is an important issue) -The technology has gained the attraction as a lower storage option They are immovable installations in locations with Plenty of Space to install.
To get more juice than pv
The moonwatt step in solar stations is that the energy storage system allows them to increase the capacity factor of up to 80%. The plants they buy will be able to double their internal efficiency rate (IRR) also suggest.
“Basically, what we allow our partner to do is double their return,” says co -founder and chief trading officer, Valentin Rota. ‘So at AAA [credit-rating] country, I would say a medium photovoltaic [photovoltaic] The asset is around, let’s say 8% to 12% yield – IRR – and we will bring the asset up to about 20%. ”
The founding trio of the start – which includes Managing Director Zukui Hu and CTO Guillaume Mancini – met while working on battery technology for Tesla about a decade ago. They have continued to work together on different employers and various projects, including the response to a small -scale solar storage experience.
“We started seeing this app starting first with what we call a microdica, so usually a small network -resistant generator,” Rota says. “But as the cost of batteries decreased and the cost of storage has actually declined these applications have begun to reach larger countries in larger networks and is really driven by the fundamental rate of solar energy.”
The founders had also collaborated on the Freyr battery manufacturer (since it reappeared as Ti Energy). And as soon as they saw the costs moving in the right direction, Rota says that the spark for the creation of Moonwatt – named for an energetic game in “Moonshot”, assume – realized that they could combine their knowledge of battery material and the application of battery technologies.
“We realized that this application – solar storage – is the backbone of the future world electricity grid, but there is still no product dedicated to it,” he says. “That’s why Moonwatt is: This is the first solar storage battery storage product.”
As the volume of solar energy produced worldwide continues to grow, the starting bet is that the industry will start looking for special storage instead of doing a “cookie-Cutter” product.
Moonwatt’s “big differentiated” per Rota include the use of sodium-ion battery technology-which says it offers better scalability, cost reduction and reduction in carbon footprint from lithium ion.
The design of the storage system also uses a distributed architecture (instead of concentrating), facilitating the plants to integrate, as he says. He also says that the approach they receive allows for greater efficiency and reduction of the cost of electricity shipment thanks to the storage connection much closer to tables at the top.
“Our primary goal, using these three features, is to reduce the cost of the electricity of these solar plants,” he adds.
Funding of seeds to get on the gas
While it is still early for this (just) months of business and its original product, Moonwatt has now closed a round of seed funding of 8 million euros (about $ 8.3 million in current exchange rates) to proceed to gas and get a storage technology in the market. They then expect to be able to make their first commercial facilities in 2027.
The seed tour is reduced by Daphni and Lea Partners, participating in the founders Future, Afi Ventures (by Venech) and Kima Ventures, along with strategic business angels and customers.
Commenting on a statement of support, Paul Bazin, a partner at Daphni, suggests that Moonwatt’s approach is “industry’s discovery is missing”.
“The increase in renewable energy sources has exceeded all expectations, but we are approaching a subversion point where it will not be able to escalate further without better energy storage,” he said. “Created by industry veterans. Moonwatt solves it with a differentiated storage product specifically manufactured for solar energy.”
“We are largely an ambition to be a Gigawatt-Hour player, a large-scale player because we want to make an impact,” Rota also tells us. “And the scale comes the cost. And we know that in this industry it is a lower -line business, so we have to be competitive in cost.”
Rota says the decision to focus on solar energy is boiling towards attractive finances and already widely hired by this type of renewable energy.
“Solar energy is interesting because it is-on a base-to-megawatt-Hour base-very competitive and get more,” he notes. “But it is also that solar is a bit more omnipresent. It grows in more than 120 countries already a year.”
Optimization only for solar energy means that startup can be fully focused on making design options intended to help plants make the most of their asset, including when it comes to shrinking their power connection costs.
‘Looking forward, the way to reduce [solar energy] The cost is by reducing the total balance of plant costs. So you need to reduce the transformer cable number, etc. And the way you do this is the pair of solar and storage, not on the medium voltage level, but in fact at the low voltage level – really next to each other, “he suggests.
“In this way, they share the same electrical infrastructure to connect to the grid. And if we extend a bit of the view of more as a level of a country, this optimization of the use of network capacity is also something we should do. Because today, a stand -alone solar plant uses the capacity of 20%, Shift the use of energy around to make a more efficient use of this network capacity. “
Hand starting business is also to help solar plants change from developers with a food in an invoice in – “almost” – to become energy traders with a flexible asset, he adds.
