FlexGen Power Systems,a provider of battery energy storage solutions and energy management software,announced that the U.S.Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey,the Court presiding over the Chapter 11 cases of Powin and its affiliates,has approved FlexGen’s acquisition of a“substantial portion”of Powin’s business.
In June,the Oregon-based battery manufacturer and supplier Powin filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.The company had previously warned in May that it was getting ready to let go of more than 200 employees,an action it followed through on before the filing.Powin reported more than$300 million in debt in its filing and said just 85 employees remained.The company boasted a roster of around 500 at the beginning of the year.
Although Powin didn’t make its reason for filing for Chapter 11 overtly clear,the company has relied on lithium iron-phosphate(LFP)components from China to manufacture its products.Despite a recent awkward truce with the U.S.,the cost of importing Chinese goods has skyrocketed over the past few months,and tariff actions threaten to disrupt the global battery supply chain,making the future of such businesses murky at best.
Through the acquisition,FlexGen will own all of Powin’s IP,including hardware IP,software IP and information technology systems,along with a hefty spare parts inventory.Upon closing of the acquisition,FlexGen will support over 25 GWh of battery energy storage systems and 200 projects across 10 countries in its portfolio.FlexGen’s Remote Operations Center(ROC)will gain system visibility to ensure continuity for Powin customers,while its FlexGen HybridOS controls software,analytics modules and lifecycle services will be made available to provide additional insights.
“This is a significant milestone,not just for FlexGen,but for the entire industry,as storage is no longer a nice-to-have,but rather,essential to meeting global energy demand and opportunities,”said FlexGen CEO,Kelcy Pegler.“With this acquisition,we will continue to deliver the reliability and intelligence the grid,data centers and communities need to thrive in a world of growing energy needs.”
Earlier this summer,FlexGen and Rosendin,the largest employee-owned electrical contracting company in the United States,announced they are joining forces to integrate proprietary technology and solutions within utility-scale Battery Energy Storage Systems(BESS)to support data center operations without relying on traditional uninterruptible power supply(UPS)infrastructure.The companies are tinkering on a utility-scale battery solution to be situated outside a data center building,as part of medium-voltage(1,000V to 35,000V)infrastructure.The companies aim to bring to market a first-of-its-kind BESS that can act as a reliable,high-performance alternative to conventional UPS systems outside data centers while simplifying system architecture and reducing capital expenditures.
Flexible interconnection is emerging as a promising way to get projects online more expeditiously,and paired battery storage is faster to bring online than co-located gas generation,making this solution a potentially attractive one for data center developers.Rosendin and FlexGen believe results from the integration will help inform system architecture standards,procurement planning,and large-scale deployment strategies for future data center projects and suppliers across the industry.
Last December,FlexGen announced plans to partner with zinc-based long-duration energy storage(LDES)systems manufacturer Eos Energy to bring the first domestic BESS option to the U.S.market.The companies signed a joint development agreement to develop and commercialize America’s first fully-integrated domestic storage solution,which combines Eos’Z3 zinc-bromine batteries with FlexGen’s HybridOS EMS and a domestic inverter and transformer package.The end result will be a customizable solution for a variety of applications,from grid-scale to behind-the-meter energy storage systems.
