Event Recap
RECAP | ROUNDTABLE | Li-Ion Batteries in the Data Center
10 Oct 2018
The use of Li-ion batteries in data centers was the subject of an hour-long Uptime Institute roundtable hosted by Uptime Institute Technical Consultant Amber Villegas-Williamson and Chief Editor Kevin Heslin on October 9, 2018.
With participation from around the globe, the roundtable included incredibly varied interest and experience in the use of Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries. Several participants had not installed Lithium ion batteries in their data center, but others had conducted significant research into Li-ion batteries and other energy storage technologies. One participant said that her company had already installed Li-ion batteries in three facilities, while another had decided against Li-ion in his data centers.
Individual participants agreed that Lithium-ion batteries are already being actively rolled out into data centers, but each data center owner operator on the panel agreed that organizations had to weigh the benefits and advantages for themselves.
During the call we conducted a poll to with the participants to gauge what they think is currently preventing lithium ion from being the “go-to” for energy storage. Of the participants polled, 60% selected safety as the primary concern the remaining 40% selected “Other.” A UK-based participant explained that one of his main concerns is end-of-life recyclability. This company is currently using valve regulated sealed lead acid (VRLA) batteries, which are 99% recyclable. Li-ion technology is relatively new and has not reached the point at which end of life recycling has become as efficient. The respondents who selected safety said that there are various chemical compositions in use, with some of the media coverage about fire focusing on consumer-type Li-ion batteries.
One participant works at a company that has three active sites that are currently using Li-ion batteries. She explained that space savings was the primary reason for their choice and noted that that these data centers house UPS batteries in the same room as the electrical equipment, without having the same concerns that higher room temperatures would have on the life span of batteries.
The moderators asked participants what they were doing to learn about Li-ion batteries, with most saying that the information that they have been provided by vendors was an incredibly well-written and had a technical perspective that met their research needs. Amber Villegas-Williamson suggested that vendors would benefit from having an open forum that might lead to a collaborative effort to change market perceptions and to improve the technology.
The results of the roundtable suggest that there is a great deal of interest in the potential of Li-ion batteries, but individual companies are not yet ready to take the leap. One participant commented that at some point the owner/operator of a large IT operation would change “take the bull by the horns,” which would encourage others to break through the hesitancy to try this new technology.
It seems though that for the time being, many will simply “wait and see” what happens. Watch this space….
With participation from around the globe, the roundtable included incredibly varied interest and experience in the use of Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries. Several participants had not installed Lithium ion batteries in their data center, but others had conducted significant research into Li-ion batteries and other energy storage technologies. One participant said that her company had already installed Li-ion batteries in three facilities, while another had decided against Li-ion in his data centers.
Individual participants agreed that Lithium-ion batteries are already being actively rolled out into data centers, but each data center owner operator on the panel agreed that organizations had to weigh the benefits and advantages for themselves.
During the call we conducted a poll to with the participants to gauge what they think is currently preventing lithium ion from being the “go-to” for energy storage. Of the participants polled, 60% selected safety as the primary concern the remaining 40% selected “Other.” A UK-based participant explained that one of his main concerns is end-of-life recyclability. This company is currently using valve regulated sealed lead acid (VRLA) batteries, which are 99% recyclable. Li-ion technology is relatively new and has not reached the point at which end of life recycling has become as efficient. The respondents who selected safety said that there are various chemical compositions in use, with some of the media coverage about fire focusing on consumer-type Li-ion batteries.
One participant works at a company that has three active sites that are currently using Li-ion batteries. She explained that space savings was the primary reason for their choice and noted that that these data centers house UPS batteries in the same room as the electrical equipment, without having the same concerns that higher room temperatures would have on the life span of batteries.
The moderators asked participants what they were doing to learn about Li-ion batteries, with most saying that the information that they have been provided by vendors was an incredibly well-written and had a technical perspective that met their research needs. Amber Villegas-Williamson suggested that vendors would benefit from having an open forum that might lead to a collaborative effort to change market perceptions and to improve the technology.
The results of the roundtable suggest that there is a great deal of interest in the potential of Li-ion batteries, but individual companies are not yet ready to take the leap. One participant commented that at some point the owner/operator of a large IT operation would change “take the bull by the horns,” which would encourage others to break through the hesitancy to try this new technology.
It seems though that for the time being, many will simply “wait and see” what happens. Watch this space….
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