Yotta Energy Integrates Murata’s 24V Battery Cells Into Solar Panel Controller, SolarLEAF

The demand for solar panels has increased over the years with more people convinced of how much they will save on their next energy bill. However, with all electrical designs there come areas of improvement. In regard to solar panels; power management, heavy enclosures, complicated corresponding HVAC, and costly fire suppression has lingered the typical solar panel systems. 

 

SolarLEAF utilizes a built-in DC optimizer with wireless monitoring to manage both solar power generation and energy storage. Image used courtesy of Yotta Energy.

 

In 2016, Yotta Energy, a Texas-based company began sharing their visions for a new solar storage solution known as SolarLEAF. The solution would provide smart thermal regulation integrated behind each PV panel while maximizing the life and performance of the battery.

 

A New Battery Fit For A Solar PV System

Murata Electronics, based in Japan, started as a capacitor manufacturer and now supplies multi-functional and high-density modules for healthcare, automotive, industrial, and smart home applications. 

 

Fortelion’s crystalline structure is thermally stable and thermal runaway does not occur due to overcharging or internal short circuits. Image used courtesy of Murata Electronics.

 

In 2018, they created Fortelion, a 24V Battery Module (all-in-one type) that is ideal for industrial equipment requiring high output such as automated guided vehicles and robots. With a stable crystalline structure made possible by employing olivine-type lithium iron phosphate as the cathode material, it is less vulnerable to breakage and less likely to catch fire, even if subjected to a large impact or significant pressure, and maintains a reliable battery performance even under intense workloads.

This module is equipped with Murata's proprietary lithium-ion secondary battery, which combines long life with an exceptionally high level of safety. Designed to undergo more than 10,000 charge-discharge cycles, providing a much longer expected operating life than lead-acid batteries that typically require replacement around 500 cycles or regular lithium-ion secondary batteries that are capable of 2,000 to 3,000 cycles. can be charged to 90% of its full capacity in about one hour, allowing devices equipped with this battery to be charged during standby mode.

 

Yotta’s SolarLEAF: A Solar Panel Storage

Today, the market needs a breakthrough in energy storage solutions. Although solar storage has risen in popularity over the last 10 years, the industry has faced challenges with producing practical batteries for energy storage. Yotta's vision is to accelerate the adoption of solar storage by engineering a new generation of solar storage that is cost-effective and reliable.

 

Yotta’s SolarLEAF is compact and can fit under any industry-standard solar panel module. Image used courtesy of Yotta Energy.

 

Panel-level storage shares a lot of the advantages that other module-level power electronics, microinverters, and DC optimizers. SolarLEAF introduces the simplification of design, power efficiency, and power optimization. The storage can integrate with the same racking system as the solar module and uses the same balance of the system. Additionally, the distributed design of the SolarLEAF incorporates Murata’s lithium-iron-phosphate batteries with no risk of a cascading thermal runaway. Omeed Badkoobeh, the CEO of Yotta Energy discussed the safe addition of the PV-coupled technology, “Additionally, Murata’s Fortelion cells showed no signs of flaming when tested to UL 9540A, which is a key differentiator for our PV-Coupled technology.” 

 

In commercial rooftop systems with ballast racking, SolarLEAF offsets the additional weight needed for a fully functional PV design. Image used courtesy of Yotta Energy. 

 

Yotta’s Smart Thermal Protection technology is based on a phase-change heat exchange system. This is commonly used in satellites to protect electronics and batteries from great variability in temperature. Yotta has developed and patented a solid-state design of the system that works completely passively in protecting batteries in extreme heat and highly efficient protection against freezing temperatures.

Murata’s Business Development Manager, John Roberts said, “Murata’s long-standing commitment to innovation extends to supporting the promising start-ups who are developing ground-breaking technologies. We are very pleased to deepen our relationship with Yotta and excited about having a hand in accelerating SolarLEAF’s mass-market adoption.” 

Murata Electronics seems to be branching into more solar PV-based applications which will only strengthen their collaboration with developers such as Yotta Energy. Together   they are addressing the growing demand for solar plus storage solutions that could provide new business models, additional revenue, and clean energy for commercial and industrial building owners.