Huabao Golden Warrior ups power supply

What is the dilemma in the application and promotion of lithium batteries in data centers? Since many years ago, lithium batteries have been used in conjunction with UPS power supplies. From many perspectives, lithium batteries are probably the best choice for data center energy storage and backup. But so far, there are no signs of large-scale popularization of lithium batteries in the field of data centers. Why is this?

What are the advantages of lithium battery applications in data centers?

Compared with traditional lead-acid batteries, lithium batteries naturally have the advantages of high energy density, high discharge efficiency, small footprint, and long cycle life. Their applications worldwide are increasing sharply, but they are making slow progress in supporting UPS power supplies.

1. Small size and light weight

For the data center industry, it is particularly important to maximize the use of existing space. It is generally believed that the volume and weight of a lithium battery with the same capacity are only about 1/3-1/2 of that of a lead-acid battery. In other words, in the 2N standard configuration, at least half of the battery room space can be saved to increase rack modules.

2. Long service life

The service life of lead-acid batteries is relatively short, only 3 to 6 years. Lithium batteries can last for about 10-20 years, charge and discharge cycles up to thousands of times, and the scrapped life under high standards can reach 8 years. The life of mainstream UPS power equipment is about 10-15 years. Lead-acid batteries need to be replaced at least twice. Lithium batteries do not need to be replaced during the full life cycle of UPS power supplies. The overall TCO is 20-40% lower than that of lead-acid batteries.

3. High discharge efficiency, small loss of fast discharge capacity

Lithium battery: Short-term high-rate discharge, which can release more energy, as the discharge rate increases, the discharge capacity changes smoothly, and the discharge capacity can reach more than 90%.

Lead-acid battery: short-term high-rate discharge, the energy that can be released is very small, as the discharge rate increases, the dischargeable capacity shows a rapid decline trend, which can only be solved by configuring multiple batteries and increasing battery investment.

4. Peak and valley electricity price arbitrage and peak load functions can be used

The long life of the lithium battery and the high number of charge and discharge cycles ensure that the lithium battery can be charged and discharged every day without affecting the service life. Therefore, through the peak and valley price arbitrage and peak load function of UPS power supply, the data center can realize the interaction between the supply and demand of the power grid, reduce the electricity bill, and realize the capacity increase. It also has considerable benefits for the grid as a whole.

What is the dilemma of the application and promotion of lithium batteries in data centers?

According to a statistics from industry media in early 2021, the current data center industry's use of lithium batteries is about 10%. Why has the advantage of lithium batteries only accounted for about 10% of the market in the past ten years? What is the dilemma of lithium battery promotion?

①Purchase cost?

According to the survey of multiple data center operators and builders, even if you don’t mention the cost advantages of lithium batteries in the whole life cycle such as land occupation, operation and maintenance, and service life, it is only the procurement cost. Although in recent years, because of electric vehicles, The rise of green energy storage systems has also continued to decline due to the substantial increase in production capacity, but it has not yet reached the level of nearly equal to that of lead-acid batteries. The short-term cost is too high and the disadvantage cannot be solved.

②Replacement and maintenance?

The power supply of the data center still uses traditional lead-acid batteries as backup power, which occupies a large area and is relatively difficult to expand and maintain. The 15-year design life of the lithium battery system ensures stable performance during the 10-year use period. It can be connected to high-power UPS power products. The longer life cycle effectively reduces the cost of battery replacement and maintenance burden.

②Safety?

For data centers, security must be the first priority. Any technical measures that talk about economy or energy efficiency without security are nonsense.

Is the safety of lithium batteries really bad? The safety of lead-acid batteries has been gradually verified through long-term use and running-in. Lithium batteries should be able to do the same. The safety of lithium batteries cannot only rely on the battery itself, but also requires running-in. If there is a mature supporting lithium battery management system, it may be gradually accepted after a long period of running-in.

In fact, compared with lead-acid batteries, lithium batteries used in data centers require standard lithium battery monitoring and management systems to achieve temperature, voltage and current monitoring, thermal runaway management, fault tripping, and battery cell voltage equalization protection functions.

But in interviews with data center operators, most of the operators' explanations were helpless-customers refused to accept it. For the data center, the one-time investment cost is too large or unacceptable. Although lithium batteries can bring many benefits, if they are not recognized by customers, there is a risk of losing revenue. Therefore, the continued use of lead-acid batteries is an inevitable choice.