NEXTracker Introduces Lithium-Ion and Vanadium Flow Energy Storage Systems for Smarter Renewable Energy Production

FREMONT, Calif., Dec. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- NEXTracker(TM), a Flex company, today announced NEXTracker Energy Storage Solutions, a portfolio of products that includes NX Drive(TM) and NX Flow(TM). NX Drive is a standardized battery enclosure system for generation-plus-storage or stand-alone storage applications. NX Flow is a modular, integrated solution designed for long duration solar-plus-storage applications. Each is designed to maximize long-term value and offer the lowest levelized cost of storage (LCOS) for a wide variety of applications, such as peak smoothing, bulk load shifting and demand charge reduction. NEXTracker's energy storage portfolio provides customers with configurable and intelligent solutions for new and retrofitted power plants and stand-alone applications.

"Customers face a complex set of technology decisions as they design their energy systems and solutions today. NEXTracker's solutions approach leverages our expertise in optimizing power plant technologies to help customers make the right choice for each specific project," said Alex Au, CTO of NEXTracker. "NX Drive and NX Flow can be used for many energy storage and solar-plus-storage scenarios, offering our customers a wide range of choices. With NEXTracker's Energy Storage Solutions, we are on the front line of mass-scale intelligent energy system development for modern power plants."

Bloomberg New Energy Finance forecasts the global energy storage market will "double six times" by 2030, growing from less than 5 gigawatt-hours in 2016 to more than 300 gigawatt-hours. An estimated $103 billion will be invested in energy storage over that time period.(1) As the solar tracker market share leader for the second consecutive year, NEXTracker continues to execute on increasing global demand for smart tracking and storage systems in the large-scale solar power industry.(2)

NX Drive provides a flexible, pre-engineered balance-of-system (BOS) solution for virtually any generation-plus-storage or stand-alone storage application. NX Drive consists of a standard ISO form factor enclosure with pre-engineered and integrated electrical, mechanical, and thermal management features. Customers can also upgrade battery modules as technology continues to evolve and integrate PV and/or storage inverters depending on design preference. Using advanced, patent-pending technologies to ensure safe operation and optimized performance, the container delivers a standardized system infrastructure for customer-supplied or NEXTracker-procured Tier 1 lithium-ion batteries.

NX Flow's complete storage solution (formerly known as NX Fusion Plus) integrates battery, inverter, solar tracker and software technologies to improve return on investment for owners of solar power plants. At the core of the system lies an advanced vanadium flow battery (VFB), which is DC-coupled with the photovoltaic (PV) array for high round-trip efficiency. With NX Flow, the battery charges directly off the array, enabling the battery to capture "clipped" energy up to its storage capacity limit. Energy that has been lost to clipping can now be captured and used to generate additional kilowatt-hours revenue. Pairing NX Flow VFB technology with ground-mounted solar power offers a bankable long duration storage option for project developers and asset owners.

NX Drive and NX Flow use common capabilities to ensure maximum value and performance, including:

    --  Smart, connected technology. An industrial-strength cyber secure data
        platform by parent company, Flex, combined with NEXTracker's predictive
        smart control software and Digital O&M(TM), offer complete cyber-secure
        system analytics and monitoring for critical operational parameters.
    --  Robust, pre-engineered designs for lowest Balance of System (BOS) cost.
        Upfront design work is eliminated, speeding up deployment; advanced
        safety designs are compliant with leading authorities having
        jurisdiction (AHJ).
    --  Global supply chain powerhouse. Backed by Flex's award-winning supply
        chain expertise, NEXTracker can deliver solar trackers, storage and
        other power plant infrastructure technologies at scale.

Related Resources
Video: NX Drive energy storage system
NX Drive product sheet
NX Flow product sheet
For sales inquiries, please email: storagesales@nextracker.com

About NEXTracker

NEXTracker, a Flex company, advances the power plant of the future with solar tracker and energy storage innovations to increase performance and reduce costs for project and plant owners. As the number-one tracker supplier worldwide with over 10 GW delivered, NEXTracker is globally recognized for delivering the most advanced photovoltaic solutions for hundreds of projects across five continents. Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, the company has offices in Australia, India, Latin America, and Europe. For more information, visit: NEXTracker.com and follow the company on Twitter @NEXTracker.

(1) "Global Storage Market to Double Six Times by 2030," Bloomberg New Energy Finance, November 20, 2017.
(2) "GTM Research names NEXTracker as leader in global tracker market", PV Magazine, April 18, 2017.

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SOURCE NEXTracker