Two energy powerhouses join together to make big, grid-tied batteries

Two large energy companies, Siemens and AES Corporation, are joining together to start a new company aimed exclusively at building utility-grade batteries. The company, called Fluence, will market these large lithium-ion storage systems to utilities and energy providers around the world.

The news follows reports from last week that AES closed on a deal to build a 100MW/400MWh battery system in Southern California, which would be tied to a new, 1,284 MW combined-cycle natural gas generator. The system will replace 1960’s-era power plants in Los Alamitos, Huntington Beach, and Redondo Beach. The gas generator is expected to be online by 2020, and the storage is expected to be online by 2021.

Siemens and AES will each have a 50-percent stake in Fluence, pending approval from US regulatory bodies, which the companies say they expect in late 2017. Both AES and Siemens have their own energy storage platforms—software systems that allow operators to manage how the batteries are charged and discharged—and a press release this morning noted that the companies will be combining those platforms and working to build in more services, which were not detailed.

The two companies have similar but slightly different experiences in grid storage. AES Energy Solutions has built several large, utility-grade battery installations, but it's a smaller and younger company. Siemens has built small-scale battery systems for commercial and industrial use, but it's a huge company with business in 160 countries.