The increase in construction and deployment of AI data centers is straining the grid and simultaneously reshaping power demand. Despite plans to build new infrastructure, maybe even on-site at these facilities, demand is likely to overtake what can be provided in the short term.
Enter battery storage.
Battery energy storage systems (BESS) offer a bridge between the grid and the power facilities as AI workloads draw power unevenly and frequently have large surges that could put an energy facility's uptime at risk. Energy storage can help manage this surge by delivering large bursts of power on demand, putting less strain on the grid.
With data center energy consumption forecast to grow more than 300% by the end of the decade, the grid will continue to be at risk.
Lithium-ion (li-ion) battery vendor Electrovaya is preparing for the demand for energy storage by introducing its first ceramic separator-based BESS device, called ElvaPulse 1500.
Electrovaya’s Infinity Battery Technology, a technology the company said has been validated across more than 30,000 battery systems operating in industrial environments, is used in the ElvaPulse for frequent cycling and long operating life.
ElvaPulse 1500 is a modular 20-foot container with a 1,500 V DC architecture that provides up to 2.88 MWh of energy capacity and can be configured to deliver up to about 7 MW of continuous power.
The company said this can be used for data centers as well as:
- Resilient microgrids
- Industrial power management
- Critical backup power
- Peak demand management
- Renewable energy firming
The ElvaPulse 1500 can discharge its full-rated capacity in under 30 minutes, making it one of the highest power-density containerized BESSs commercially available, the company claims.
“Data centers and other mission-critical facilities are pushing the energy storage industry toward higher and higher power delivery, and ElvaPulse 1500 was purpose-built to meet that need,” said Raj DasGupta, CEO of Electrovaya.
The ElvaPulse 1500 is under certification and Electrovaya is looking at completion around the first quarter of 2027. The company said it is already in discussion with hyperscalers and energy developers to adopt the ElvaPulse 1500.
