A solar cell is a power generation device that does not store electricity directly, while a lithium-ion battery is a type of battery that can continuously store electricity for users to use. Compared with energy storage lithium-ion batteries, a disadvantage of solar cells is that they cannot be separated from sunlight. The conversion of solar energy into electrical energy is synchronized with sunlight in real time. Therefore, solar cells are only home during the day or even when it is sunny. However, it is not like the energy storage lithium-ion battery, as long as it is fully charged, it can completely get rid of the limitations of time and environment, and can be used flexibly.
The best partner for energy storage lithium-ion batteries is solar energy. The energy generated by solar energy should be stored by energy storage batteries for easy use. At present, there are street lamps that use this mode to generate electricity. The energy storage lithium-ion batteries in the street lamps during the day can store solar energy and release electricity at night. This is actually a very demanding job. The energy storage lithium-ion battery not only needs to store the energy required at night, but also needs to store the energy required at night when there is no sun. This requires the energy storage lithium-ion battery to be large enough to meet the demand.
The solar cell power generation system has high cost, low conversion efficiency, and strong variability with the environment, so the requirements for energy storage are relatively high. The service life of the solar photovoltaic power generation system is generally 20 years, and the supporting energy storage battery is required to have the characteristics of long service life, stable performance, high energy efficiency, and strong adaptability to the environment.
The integrated solar cell-energy storage lithium-ion battery system is still in the early research and development stage. Although the commercialization of the solar cell-energy storage lithium-ion battery integrated system is still a long way off, its development will greatly benefit from the current rapid progress in the field of photovoltaics and batteries. Its future development direction will also develop from the initial low-power, compact applications to large-scale energy applications.
