Altech Batteries Ltd welcomes news that its CERENERGY® ® Sodium Chloride Solid State (SCSS) Battery project has received the highest possible green rating of “Dark Green” from Standard and Poor’s Global Ratings — confirming its place as one of the greenest battery technologies available and making it suitable for finance via green bonds.
Altech believes the accreditation is testament to its CERENERGY® battery being one of the greenest battery technologies available today, if not the greenest, with the lowest carbon footprint, lowest supply chain requirements and environmentally friendliest in relation to raw materials.
The CERENERGY® battery is a solid state, sodium chloride battery, with its emissions expected to be one-third of lithium-ion batteries.
While lithium-based batteries are expected to continue as the dominant battery technology, it is anticipated that sodium-based batteries will play an increasing role, particularly in the stationary storage market.
Shades of Green methodology
The CERENERGY® project was formally assessed by the independent Centre of International Climate and Environmental Research (former CICERO), now owned by Standard and Poor’s Global Ratings based in Oslo, Norway.
S&P’s Shades of Green methodology includes six shades that can be designated to activities, with a Dark Green rating awarded only to activities that correspond to the long-term vision of the low-carbon climate resilient future.
The assessment of the project as Dark Green, primarily reflects the importance of battery storage in the transition of the power and industrial sectors, and the contribution to the development of alternatives to lithium-ion and cobalt-free batteries. It also reflects CERENERGY® battery’s comparatively low expected emissions and fossil-free direct production process.
Access to Green Bond debt market
The positive project assessment, formally termed a Second Party Opinion (SPO), confirms that the CERENERGY® project aligns to International Capital Markets Association (ICMA) Green Bond Criteria, making it suitable for finance via green bonds — one of the debt financing options for CERENERGY® project.
“The project can now be accessed by investors that participate in the green bond market, the size of which is approaching US$250 billion annually and a large portion of which is present in Europe,” Altech managing director Iggy Tan said.
“The CERENERGY® project’s green shading score does not affect bond pricing, rather it provides a transparent mechanism by which green bond investors are able to categorise their investment in terms of climate risks and impacts. We are very proud of achieving this significant milestone.”
Low emission battery technology
The CERENERGY® battery has expected emissions of around 14 kgCO2/kWh capacity (scope 1, 2, and 3). Scope 1 and 2 emissions are 4.07 kgCO2/kWh capacity, and the capacity figure for scope 3 emissions is about 10 kgCO2/kWh.
Comparatively, lithium-ion batteries (NMC chemistry) for vehicles, have an estimated range of 61-106 kgCO2/kWh cradle-to-gate emissions, depending mainly on the electricity mix.
The entire CERENERGY® production process will be powered by renewable energy, while the battery uses raw materials that entail less environmental risks, and is fully recoverable/recyclable.
Shifts to sodium-based batteries are expected because they require no critical mineral/metal inputs such as lithium, graphite, copper or cobalt. The primary materials in the CERENERGY® battery are sodium, alumina, and (recycled) nickel derivatives.
Altech Batteries foresees large demand from industry for its CERENERGY® battery. This could relate to the use of batteries in industrial micro grids, or to support systems in data centres, logistics centres and hospitals. It also considers heavy industry, such as steel and chemicals as potential end users.
Grid storage could also be a large use of the CERENERGY® battery, whether co-located with renewable assets or directly integrated into transmission networks. Such use of batteries is crucial for the integration of variable renewable energy sources (including for backup or peak load) and demand management, and for supporting grid reliability and stability.