New high energy density storage system technology delivers high performance on land, at sea, in the air and in space

Saft, a subsidiary of TotalEnergies, has developed a new high-energy density storage system (ESS) optimized for time-shifting applications: a key enabler for the massive integration of low-carbon renewable energy on power grids. Saft specializes in advanced technology battery solutions for industry, from the design and development to the production, customization and service provision. For more than 100 years, Saft’s longer-lasting batteries and systems have provided critical safety applications, back-up power and propulsion for our customers. Our innovative, safe and reliable technology delivers high performance on land, at sea, in the air and in space

Modular Intensium Shift (I-Shift) 3 MWh containers are scalable building blocks and can be installed in line-ups with power conversion equipment with a 50% smaller system footprint, while reducing 50% of site-related activities, allowing a faster deployment of utility-scale storage plants.

Easy sea and road transportation, standardization, plug-and-play installation are assets to speed up project delivery. For instance, four groups of twin line-ups with 48 I-Shift containers can provide a reliable 32MW/128 MWh four-hour energy storage system with lower land requirements and civil works’ needs.

The massive growth of renewable production increases the need for storage systems suited for shifting worldwide. I-Shift allows operators to store electric energy when it is abundantly available so it can be used during periods of high consumption. This ensures a more effective use of valuable decarbonized electricity. A typical example consists of shifting the output of utility-scale solar farms from daylight hours to evening periods when power is most needed by customers.

Hervé Amossé, Saft’s executive vice president for energy storage said: “The launch of I-Shift demonstrates Saft’s ability to innovate, fulfilling the needs of a growing energy storage market, as operators need flexible, cost-efficient, turnkey solutions for energy shifting. I-Shift thereby supports the energy transition, enabling faster integration of low carbon renewables to the grid. I-Shift’s innovative design, covered by eight new patents, includes improvements on thermal efficiency and ruggedness, with 30% more storage capacity. Customers can also rely on Saft’s decades of proven experience with hundreds of storage systems operational worldwide.”
Available from mid-2023, Intensium® Shift (I-Shift) is based on lithium iron phosphate (LFP) technology. It is suited to energy time-shifting, peaking and capacity support applications on transmission and distribution grids.

Customers can use these individual 20-foot containers with 3.0 megawatt-hour (MWh) storage capacity to handle the output of multi-megawatt sites for between two and eight hours, either co-located on renewable farms, or as standalone sites.

I-Shift containers are fully populated in Saft’s factories and use a modular approach embedding batteries, thermal systems and digital control interfaces connecting to Saft’s cloud-based data platform I-Sight. They benefit from Saft’s safety concept with a unique combination of proven and tested safety devices, such as fire suppression systems or blast panels.

Saft works in close partnership with customers, providing 360° support from project inception and commissioning to end-of-life, dismantling and recycling of containers. Intensium Shift systems will be delivered from its three strategic manufacturing hubs for energy storage in France, US and China.