Powin LLC, designer and manufacturer of the modular Centipede lithium-ion battery energy storage system, announced it will be nearshoring its fabrication in a partnership with Celestica, Inc., a manufacturing and supply chain solutions business. The facility will be located in Monterrey, Mexico, bringing Centipede’s production closer to Powin’s customers.
Large-scale procurement of renewable energy and battery energy storage is underway in nearby Texas and California, making the new location a strategic move to provide customers greater supply chain flexibility, said Powin. The Centipede platform will be assembled and tested on site at the Celestica facility before delivery to project locations.
Image: Powin
The nearshoring effort will allow Powin to consolidate its production to one facility and will reduce logistical risks like vessel availability and tariff-related cost volatility, said the company. Powin said it vertically-integrates its business, going deeper into the supply chain to purchase individual components from a variety of suppliers for increased supply chain resilience.
The modular battery platform was launched in November 2021. The system consists of pre-integrated modular units containing batteries, thermal management equipment, and other safety features.
Powin said Centipede requires half the time to procure and deploy and uses 30% less space onsite, while reducing lifecycle costs, when compared to contemporary modular storage systems. The Stack750E battery will be the first unit integrated for the Centipede system and is designed for 2-hour to 4-hour durations. The design offers scalability and supports up to 200 MWh storage per acre. The third-generation battery module was updated with new thermal controls, a change that Powin said will create an anticipated 80% reduction in service times.
Mass production of Centipede is expected by Q2 2022, with first deliveries scheduled a year later. Powin said it has secured more than 2 GWh of contracts for the battery system from multinational independent power producers and utilities.
Powin president Geoff Brown said the platform will aid in increased renewables penetration, non-wires alternatives, and power decentralization. “With Centipede we have meticulously reinvented our entire storage ecosystem, including our supply chain, battery hardware, and balance of system design to create [the design],” he said.
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