End-user battery technology advancements this year?

[sidpost]

Fourth-quarter last year, I was seeing a lot of talk and speculation about 304Ahr LiFeP04 batteries and more recently higher capacities being talked about. Are 340Ahr LiFeP04 batteries just speculation at this point?

What is the state of the industry these days and how applicable is it to end-users? Are Salt Water batteries still many years out? In the next year or two, a friend and I will need to add capacity. Today I will likely get a single 48V bank of LiFeP04 batteries in a 280~304Ahr capacity. I want to set aside some space, or at least plan for an expansion next year as I reconfigure my existing system.

TIA,
Sid

 

[FilterGuy]

I don't have a crystal ball, but I don't see anything replacing LiFePO4 in the next year or two.

Within the LiFePO4 space, we will probably see more availability of the 304AH cells and maybe even something larger. However, that might be countered by the shrinking market for cells that the server rack batteries are causing. I won't say it is definitely going to happen, but I could see a situation where 2 years frin the DIY market for cells shrinks enough that it could impact the availability to the DIY market.

There is a whole thread about this with a spirited debate about what is going to happen.

Future of DIY LiFePO4 looks bleak…

I think the trend both with lower and lower cell cost/Wh as well as the arrival of more and more finished LiFePO4 batteries at lower and lower cost means it’s just a matter of time before building your own DIY LuFePO4 batteries from cells is not going to make any sense. Today, you can purchase...

diysolarforum.com

 

[sidpost]

I don't have a crystal ball, but I don't see anything replacing LiFePO4 in the next year or two.

Within the LiFePO4 space, we will probably see more availability of the 304AH cells and maybe even something larger. However, that might be countered by the shrinking market for cells that the server rack batteries are causing. I won't say it is definitely going to happen, but I could see a situation where 2 years frin the DIY market for cells shrinks enough that it could impact the availability to the DIY market.

There is a whole thread about this with a spirited debate about what is going to happen.

Future of DIY LiFePO4 looks bleak…

I think the trend both with lower and lower cell cost/Wh as well as the arrival of more and more finished LiFePO4 batteries at lower and lower cost means it’s just a matter of time before building your own DIY LuFePO4 batteries from cells is not going to make any sense. Today, you can purchase...

diysolarforum.com

That thread has a lot of talk about rack mount battery packs. I live close to Signature Solar in Texas and bought some panels there. Overall, I'm not super impressed with rack-mounted 100Ah battery packs but, I can see where that will be attractive to a lot of people that want a more turn-key solution.

In terms of declining sales volumes, I'm at a loss for a good reason for this. Perhaps less committed people are on the sidelines thinking a battery revolution isn't too far out.

Like you, my crystal ball is a bit cloudy and waiting years for the next new thing isn't practical so, here I am asking others for insights I don't have!