LG Energy supplies batteries to world’s largest Vistra ESS project

South Korea’s LG Energy Solution Ltd. is supplying batteries to the world’s largest energy storage system (ESS) project operated by US power company Vistra Corp.

LG Energy Solution, the secondary battery affiliate of LG Chem Ltd., said on Thursday it has completed the supply of its latest ESS battery system, TR 1300 battery racks, to Vistra’s 12 gigawatt-hour (GWh) of power grid ESS facility located in Moss Landing in northern Monterey County, California.

The Moss Landing facility that recently came online is the world’s single largest ESS facility with the capacity to supply power to about 225,000 households during peak hours in California.

LG Energy said the TR 1300 system is a product with enhanced installation efficiency, energy density and safety.

In the past, the company shipped battery packs and racks separately and assembled them at clients’ facilities. But this time, LG was able to assemble the pack into the racks and shipped the package to the US facility, reducing the time and cost of installing the system.

LG expects more ESS deals from the US as the American market is growing rapidly with the Joe Biden administration vowing to replace all US power grid systems with renewable energy by 2050.

According to market researcher SNE Research, the US power grid ESS market stood at 6.5 GWh, accounting for about half the world’s total demand, at the end of 2020.

The American ESS market is forecast to grow to 55.3 GWh by 2025, it said.

ESS has been receiving increasing attention around the world amid the growing popularity of renewable energy, the production of which is less stable than non-renewable types such as oil and gas. ESS is able to stabilize the supply of renewable energy through storage.

Write to Jae-Kwang Ahn at ahnjk@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.