The one MWh battery storage system installed at UCR is one of the largest battery storage systems installed by Balqon and includes batteries and Balqon’s proprietary components, such as a 160 kW battery charger, 240 kW flux vector inverter, battery management system and related power electronics components.

The six-month development period for our battery storage system that is now operational at UCR certainly tested the limits of our inverter and charger technologies. The development period has been an educationally rewarding process for us and has expanded our interest in addressing opportunities in the lithium battery energy storage market. We are using the technologies developed during the UCR project to address other lithium battery storage opportunities related to cell towers and solar and wind energy systems.

The use of battery storage systems for peak-shaving applications, where batteries are charged during off-peak hours and the energy stored during that time is used during peak hours, may be an economically viable solution for large commercial buildings and educational institutions.

—Balwinder Samra, CEO of Balqon Corporation

In January, 2012, the Center for Environmental Research and Technology at the Bourns College of Engineering at UCR received a $2 million award for a two-year project, supported by the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) and involving a number of public and private partners, to build solar arrays, advanced battery storage, vehicle charging stations, an electric trolley, and a grid management system to provide clean energy to clean vehicles efficiently. The installation of Balqon’s energy storage system is part this larger project at UCR.