At present, the maturity of lithium battery markets in developed countries is high, while the maturity of most markets in our country is relatively low. However, there is a huge demand for low-power lithium battery markets, which has cultivated a research and development environment for high-end products in our country, including lithium battery UPS. With the increasing number of small and medium-sized enterprises and the rapid popularity of household PCs, the demand for medium power UPS products in the market will continue to grow. Under the increasingly homogenized market conditions of products, service quality has become an important criterion for many lithium battery UPS users to choose manufacturers for sale. The flattening of pathway architecture, diversification of pathway forms, and professionalization of pathway teams have become one of the primary manifestations of the shift from low-end to high-end competition in China’s lithium battery UPS market.
Due to the decrease in cost, ease of deployment, and high control functions, as well as the rapid development of shopping malls, it is estimated that the global demand for lithium battery UPS will reach 8.3 billion US dollars by 2020. The high load characteristics, operating costs, and reliability requirements of data centers have brought new development opportunities for energy storage lithium battery UPS. By 2020, the demand for uninterruptible power supplies is expected to reach $656.8 million (approximately RMB 4.2 billion), and the annual compound growth rate of data center demand for this market is also higher than the average growth rate, reaching 13.3%.
The current lithium battery UPS market in China is very prosperous and has played an increasingly important role in various professions in recent years. For example, the banking system is a major user of lithium battery UPS, accounting for 40% of the entire UPS power supply sales, which undoubtedly benefits the correct use of equipment. The high usage of APC UPS power supply by banks fully demonstrates its importance, and of course, also puts forward higher requirements for its reliability.
The servers and host computers in the bank are running continuously. If there is a sudden power outage, it is not allowed to cut off some customer service information before it is saved. UPS power supply used by banks can maintain normal operation of computers or network systems in a very small amount of time during sudden power outages, usually between 5 to 15 minutes, without causing data loss. APC uninterruptible power supply plays a crucial role in the reliable operation of the banking system. At this point, traditional lead-acid batteries are no longer sufficient, and lithium battery APC UPS power supply is a new solution.
Although lithium batteries have high energy density, small footprint, multiple cycles, and long lifespan, does this mean that their application in data centers is perfect just because they have these characteristics? For example:
1. Uneven discharge current between cabinets caused by inconsistent internal resistance and capacity of battery cells, as well as differences in power distribution, especially during short-term high current discharge, the uneven current of lead-acid batteries is high, resulting in over configuration of lead-acid batteries. Does the same problem apply to lithium batteries?
2. Many scenarios in data centers involve phased expansion, and at this time, there will be scenarios where new and old battery packs are used in parallel. Lead acid batteries generally cannot be mixed with old and new battery packs, so does lithium battery have the same problem?