Saft, a subsidiary of TotalEnergies, has extended its energy storage system offering with the launch of its latest innovation: the Intensium Flex (I-Flex) battery storage container. It provides a compact building block rated at 3.4, 4.3 or 5.1 MWh for the creation of projects up to the gigawatt-hour scale. Production on the DC version will begin by the end of 2025 to serve more than 1 GWh of firm orders already in hand. The company will also launch an AC version in 2026.
Based on lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistry, I-Flex is a high energy, liquid-cooled, fully integrated 20-ft containerized system engineered to ensure high levels of safety and operational reliability under intense use conditions. Its flexibility enables the optimized design of multiple storage system configurations to serve any mix of applications from long duration time-shifting of renewable resources to dynamic short-duration grid services.
“In developing Intensium Flex we have built on 15 years of field experience in the design, engineering and commissioning of battery energy storage systems, with an installed base of over 7.5 GWh covering renewables, grid, data centers, industry and microgrid projects in over 30 countries,” said Vincent Le Quintrec, ESS Sales Director at Saft. “Conceived as a flexible building block, I-Flex enables us to optimize the system solution for each project in terms of storage capacity and system architecture, whatever the use case or location. It will play an important role in driving Saft’s expansion in the global BESS market.”
Saft’s Intensium Flex battery containers can be connected in parallel to create flexible BESS solutions, maximizing revenue in configurations from two to eight hours. Thermal insulation allows for back-to-back and side-by-side installation, significantly reducing the system’s footprint. The current DC version is compatible with multiple power conversion systems (PCS), while the future AC version will integrate DC to AC conversion within the same enclosure, further optimizing footprint and simplifying on-site installation and commissioning.
Intensium Flex’s enhanced thermal management enables a 300% daily energy throughput even with the highly compact assembly of the battery modules, says Saft. This is made possible by the efficient cooling system for the modules and the battery management module together with an integrated heat exchanger cooling circuit. The focus on maintaining temperature homogeneity across the battery modules is critical to ensure system performance and a long service life.
It is factory-assembled, tested and certified ready for delivery to site as a plug and play energy storage solution that ensures a best-in-class safety solution, in line with future NFPA 8551 requirements. It is housed in a standard ISO container for easy transportation by sea and road.
It also offers a high level of cybersecurity that exceeds current market requirements due to Saft’s in-house battery management system as well as design and sourcing of key components in the EU and the United States.
I-Flex is complemented by Saft’s I-Sight cloud-based data management control and supervision platform that combines AI and machine learning for remote, real-time performance monitoring and predictive maintenance of BESS installations.
Saft will assemble Intensium Flex containers at its manufacturing hubs in China and the United States with dual supply chains.
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