US-12626992-B2 - Battery storage container and method of use

US12626992B2US 12626992 B2US12626992 B2US 12626992B2US-12626992-B2

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a battery energy storage container. The energy storage container has a cylindrical housing and a pair of end caps disposed on opposite ends of the cylindrical housing. A diaphragm is positioned between each end cap selected from the pair of end caps and the corresponding end of the cylindrical housing. In one version, the energy storage container is configured to be installed below the ground surface for geological thermal management of the energy storage container. Embodiments of the present invention further disclose various types of electrode retainers. The energy storage container is configured for use in electrochemical battery cells, Li-ion batteries, intercalation batteries, metal-air batteries, flow batteries, fuel cells, reversible fuel cells, and capacitors.

Inventors

Daniel P. Casey

Assignees

DRAGON Q ENERGY LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20251008

Claims (7)

1 . A system comprising: at least one conductive retainer having a first side and a second side; a first plurality of parallel arranged electrochemical cells on the first side; and a second plurality of parallel arranged electrochemical cells on the second side; wherein the first plurality of parallel arranged electrochemical cells and the second plurality of parallel arranged electrochemical cells are arranged in series; wherein the electrochemical cells are Li-ion batteries or capacitors; wherein the system is inside an energy storage container that comprises end caps and a cylindrical housing and wherein each end cap comprises a pressure relief valve; and wherein the energy storage container comprises an over-pressure fail-safe mechanism that comprises a diaphragm positioned between each end cap selected from the pair of end caps and a corresponding end of the cylindrical housing.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein: the first plurality of parallel arranged electrochemical cells and the second plurality of parallel arranged electrochemical cells are arranged in series with at least one more conductive retainer; wherein the at least one more conductive retainer has a first side and a second side; wherein the at least one more conductive retainer has a plurality of parallel arranged electrochemical cells on the first side of the at least one more conductive retainer; and a plurality of parallel arranged electrochemical cells on the second side of the at least one more conductive retainer; and wherein the plurality of parallel arranged electrochemical cells on the first side of the at least one more conductive retainer and the plurality of parallel arranged electrochemical cells on the second side of the at least one more conductive retainer are arranged in series with the first plurality of parallel arranged electrochemical cells and the second plurality of parallel arranged electrochemical cells of the at least one conductive retainer.
3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one conductive retainer is disc-shaped.
4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the electrochemical cells are Li-ion batteries.
5 . The system of claim 4 , wherein the Li-ion batteries are cylindrical cells.
6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one conductive retainer is electrically connected to the cylindrical housing.
7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the over-pressure fail safe mechanism comprises: a pressure relief valve arranged in the container; an envelope connected downstream to the pressure relief valve; wherein the envelope is configured to be filled with contents of the container; wherein the over-pressure fail-safe mechanism is configured to be automatically activated in either a first mode or a second mode depending on a pressure of the contents in the container; wherein in the first mode, the pressure relief valve releases at least some contents of the container in the envelope; wherein in the second mode, the envelope releases a metered quantity of at least some contents of the container to an atmosphere; and wherein the second mode is activated only after activation of the first mode when the pressure of the released contents in the envelope exceeds a set pressure.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This Application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 19/122,043, filed Apr. 17, 2025, which is a National Phase Application filed under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of PCT Application No. PCT/US2023/076604, titled, “Battery Energy Storage Container and Method of Use,” filed Oct. 11, 2023, which claims priority to and benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/417,286, entitled “Pressurized Energy Storage Container and Method of Use,” to Casey, filed on Oct. 18, 2022. FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to the field of energy storage and more particularly, the present invention relates to energy storage containers for use in batteries, capacitors, and fuel cells. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION There is an interrelated problem of climate change and increased populations/power consumption of crowded urban and suburban areas, and the negative effects on the power grid. Overloading the grid on hot summer days, results in a massive sag of the power line conductor until such a critical point that the conductor could ground and arc with trees, structures, and even terrain. The infamous 2003 Northeast power outage and the 2017 Thomas Forest Fire in California resulted in untold environmental damage, loss of life, loss of service and incredible personal and corporate financial losses. In regular circumstances, like on a hot day with a high electrical load, the ISO (Independent Service Operator) actively monitors sag levels, and preemptively shuts down service, to prevent arcing, outages, and fires. Also, with the aging grid, powerlines under reasonable/high loads will arc across insulators to the powerline support structure. At best, the ISO experiences massive power losses, and at worst, a total failure of the insulator or conductor resulting in an outage or fire. Even in 2005, it could be estimated that electrification of transportation and grid, with a shift away from hydrocarbon fuels, was a challenging path for the national grid. A method to manufacture large, safe, and low cost battery cells can make a meaningful impact on further electrifying the grid with renewable electrical generation and will reduce peak load and mitigate fossil fuel electrical generation Current battery improvements focus on the chemistry to increase energy density, cycles, safety and other figures of merit in an 18650/4680 cell, pouch, or prismatic cells. However, very little research is being conducted on container innovations. Currently, small-format battery solutions are being adopted to solve large-scale, long-duration energy storage problems. These are not good uses for the requirements of large-format, long-duration, energy storage systems. Since 2005, an intense global paradigm shift (namely Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth and The Paris Agreement of 2015) to electrify everything and decarbonize the grid requires long-duration energy storage solutions for the market. U.S. Pat. No. 10,608,284 discloses a compressed-gas electrolyte as a liquefied gas electrolyte. However, the technology disclosed does not offer an accompanying hardware solution to reduce their invention to practice. The existing BESS (Battery Energy Storge Systems) solutions related to long-duration energy storage are ineffective, complex in use, difficult to manufacture, costly, and have specific safety concerns involving thermal runaway and fires. There is a need for an effective and efficient solution that solves the aforementioned problem of long-duration energy storage using small-format, fit for mobility, cells. energy storage containers. SUMMARY The present invention provides a battery energy storage container comprising: a cylindrical housing configured for enclosing electrodes and storing electrolyte at pressure above ambient pressure or below ambient pressure; wherein the cylindrical housing comprises two opposite ends spaced from each other; a pair of end caps disposed on opposite ends of the cylindrical housing, wherein the pair of end caps are configured to seal the opposite ends of the cylindrical housing; wherein each end cap selected from the pair of end caps comprises a pressure relief valve; and a diaphragm positioned between each end cap selected from the pair of end caps and the corresponding end of the cylindrical housing. In an embodiment, each end cap selected from the pair of end caps comprises a flange; and each end selected from the two opposite ends of the cylindrical housing comprises an opposite flange. In an embodiment, each end cap selected from the pair of end caps comprises a pressure port that is configured to introduce fluid or gases in the corresponding end cap. In an embodiment, the energy storage container is configured to be installed below the ground surface for geological thermal management of the energy storage container. In an embodiment, the energy storage container is configured for use in electrochemical, Li-ion, intercalation, metal-air batteries, flow b