From Sifted.eu, April 5:
Along a basement corridor in the same building where the Swedish secret service has its offices, doors are marked with different colours depending on the voltage risk behind them.
Behind the doors with a red dot tests occur with voltage levels so high we’re not allowed to enter. “I’m not even allowed in there,” says Stefan Jansson, the CEO of Swedish energy storage scaleup Polarium. But in the rooms he can go into, his company is assembling battery cells into modules, setting them up with “state-of-the-art” electronics and software then turning them into ready-to-ship, next generation energy storage systems.
The tests are being carried out inside Polarium X, the company’s recently opened R&D centre. It’s the latest sign of growth for a unicorn that has somehow managed to mostly slip under the radar.
The technology
Polarium is often described as the twin of Swedish battery manufacturer giant Northvolt. Instead of making batteries, it purchases lithium-ion battery cells and develops commercial solutions for storing renewable energy.The cells that battery manufacturers deliver to Polarium look similar to the normal, large cylindrical batteries you would buy in a shop. “We believe in a small size like this,” Jansson says and points at a row of cells assembled together.
They are put into battery modules with electronics and software attached, checked to see if they work and later added to wardrobe-like boxes. These are then used by the grid or commercial actors for short-term energy storage, or used for longer-term energy reserves.
Critics, however, argue that lithium-ion batteries are too expensive and need replacing frequently, so aren’t great for storing renewable energy. The way they generate energy is also a challenge....
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