In August, American Electric Power (AEP, Columbus, Ohio, U.S.) commenced the first U.S. stationary demonstration of the NAS^® battery as developed by NGK Insulators Ltd., and Tokyo Electric (TEPCO) with power electronics supplied by ABB. The 100-kW/375-kWh installation is now in test operation at a suburban Columbus office park.

The NAS battery test will last two years, during which time AEP will validate its impressive operational qualities. AEP and its partners will gain familiarity with the technology and develop economic models for what they hope will be robust commercialization.

The Japanese are well familiar with NAS qualities, especially peak shaving, as many large-scale demonstration installations in operation in Japan have confirmed its performance. The NGK-TEPCO collaboration goes back to the 1980s, and ABB has been involved in the power electronics/power-quality aspects of energy storage and battery technology development since the late 1980s.

NAS features include high energy density, high efficiency, long life, low operating and maintenance cost, up to five-fold peak power capability.

Reducing production costs and matching the technology with high-value applications are two challenges facing NAS commercial deployment. NGK is to commence commercial-scale production of NAS batteries in early 2003.

Certainly there is a growing need for distributed generation resources as reliability of the electric grid has decreased in certain instances, and demands on the network are increasing. Technology solutions such as NAS are destined to play an important role in competitive power markets and our T&D systems.
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