Medicine Hat hosts first Canadian saltwater battery demonstration to address power demands

(Video Credit: Jett Schwaier/CHAT News)

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The system is the fifth and final technology demonstration under the program and is currently going through commissioning.

It will remain in Medicine Hat for another year of operation and testing.

The battery stores electricity in tanks of liquid electrolyte and is designed to provide longer-duration energy storage.

City officials say the technology could eventually help manage periods of high electricity demand and potentially delay the need for costly infrastructure upgrades.

Raymond Chokelal, a senior electrical engineer with the city’s Utility Distribution Systems department, says locating the battery alongside TAKEnergy’s electricity generation demonstration allowed the city to explore how the two technologies could work together.

The TAKEnergy system captures energy from natural gas pressure reduction to generate electricity without burning the gas.

Chokelal says the battery could help store excess electricity and provide it back to the grid when demand increases.

“The opportunity with Aqua-Cell is to take care of the peakiness or even to store energy, excess energy that’s generated, and feed it back to provide us the opportunity for load shaving,” he said.

He says the experience also gives the city a better understanding of how these technologies could be installed and used within a municipal utility system.

The demonstrations are part of the Energy Innovation Challenge, launched in September 2023 and managed by Decentralised Energy Canada in partnership with the City of Medicine Hat.

Five Canadian companies took part, testing technologies related to energy storage, building energy management, electricity generation and grid planning.

Rochelle Pancoast, the city’s managing director of energy, land and environment, said the projects allowed companies to move technologies beyond laboratory development and test them in real-world utility conditions.

Pancoast says the work explored ways to address changing electricity demands, particularly as more sources such as solar and wind become part of the energy system.

One potential benefit is reducing peak electricity demand, which could limit the need for additional infrastructure.

“If we can reduce our peak consumption or meet that peak consumption in different ways, that means we don’t need as much infrastructure built out to meet that full peak load,” Pancoast said.

“So it helps curb the peaks, and we don’t have to build as much infrastructure. So that overall helps reduce costs.”

Kevin Shaaf, the city’s superintendent of facility management, says the building monitoring technology has also helped staff identify opportunities to reduce electricity use in municipal facilities.

“It allowed us to identify what equipment in our buildings [is] using the most power, and then look at those schedules and determine if we need to run those, whatever applications would be using that power,” Shaaf said.

He says staff have identified opportunities to reduce energy use outside regular business hours by adjusting building temperatures, lighting and equipment schedules.

“By using less power at our facilities, we’re able to have more capacity available for the grid,” Shaaf said.

The five companies invested a combined $2.2 million of their own resources in the demonstrations, while the overall program brought together $4.635 million in contributions from innovators, the city and funding partners.

The City of Medicine Hat contributed $850,000, while Prairies Economic Development Canada provided $1.2 million through its Regional Innovation Ecosystems program.

Mayor Linnsie Clark says the experience and equipment gained through the program will help the city plan for future electricity needs.

“By opening our utility to Canadian innovators and working with funding partners, we have gained equipment and practical experience to help us plan reliable electricity service for homes and businesses,” Clark said in a release.

The program also supported 47 small and medium-sized businesses through demonstrations, investment activities, training and other commercialization support.

Decentralised Energy Canada says the results will help participating companies refine their technologies and prepare for commercial adoption, while providing information other utilities and communities can use.

by Jett Schwaier

Medicine Hat hosts first Canadian saltwater battery demonstration to address power demands

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