Energy Storage in Bulgaria - Lead Acid or Lithium - Ion Chemistry

The purpose of this paper is to formulate guidelines on the selection of battery chemistry for stationary renewable energy storage in relation to National Plan for Recovery and Sustainability of the Republic of Bulgaria, version 1.5 of 06.04.2022 [1]. The main technical characteristics of traditional chemical sources of electricity, lead-acid and Li-ion batteries are discussed. The main technical characteristics of traditional power chemistries, lead-acid and Li-ion batteries are discussed with the comparative review highlighting LTO and LFP as the most suitable among lithium chemistries and VRLA among lead-acid battery designs. LTO chemistry was rejected as potentially feasible due to its high cost. Economic considerations are set out on the rationale for the selection of battery chemistry for RES for the period 2020–2030. The comparison of the two chemistries LFP and LA shows a marginal economic advantage of LFP towards 2020 with a trend towards increasing by 2030 due to the forecast in [4] of cheaper LFP technology in the coming years. LFP technology has been recommended as the most promising for the construction of electricity storage facilities in Bulgaria, but without denying the future of LA chemistry.