STB (CEO: Lee Myung-soo,www.stbchip.co.kr) specializes in battery management systems (BMS). After developing a smart battery control IC for mobile phones, the company is now producing and suppling a mass storage device for industrial sized renewable energy suppliers known as PowerStack.
The lithium battery, which is rechargeable, has become a popular backup battery, as it does not have many of the drawbacks found in conventional secondary batteries such as short life, and environmentally harmful substances like lead and cadmium. It also has a high energy density per volume and energy per weight, helping to reduce its size and weight.
However, due to the high energy density, control IC technology is essential in producing large capacity (laminating) lithium batteries. With its own control IC, STB has succeeded in developing the PowerStack, a storage device for UPS and new and renewable energy, as a result of a collaborative research project for small and medium enterprises, known as the, “Smart Battery and Power Converter Development for System Interconnection.” This was held in association with Korea Electric Power Corporation and its subsidiaries. Although Japan, too, is developing a large capacity lithium battery, Korea's STB has proven its remarkable technology by becoming the first company to commercialize it.
Based on such technological competence, the PowerStack was certified as a New Excellent Technology (NET) in 2006, a New Excellent Product (NEP) in 2009, and was selected as a Good Procurement Product in 2010.
Advantages of the PowerStack include those of lithium ion batteries in that it has high energy; is rechargeable, dischargeable, and environmentally friendly, and contains a safety device (fuse, relay, and seismic design, apart from the internal safety device). Also, it does not require additional battery room, and is easy to maintain thanks to the BMS features (including protection, cell balancing, and battery check system) based on a smart battery control IC. Parallel connection between stacks allows a stack to be separated for repair, which means you can maintain a normal power supply even during an outage caused by maintenance work, and while conventional secondary batteries required their entire replacement for capacity increase, the PowerStack gives you the more economical option to simply add additional capacity.
Since 2007, when the Taean Power Plant adopted the PowerStack, the product has been supplied to KEPCO and the Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power. Thanks to BMS, there is no need for additional maintenance. And by attaching the wireless communication device, people can simple check the battery information in real time at the office. STB is supplying lithium batteries for emergency power to the Internet Data Center and the Zero Energy House of Samsung. The C&T Corporation also recognizes the product’s excellence and is using it for their new and renewable energy business. Furthermore, STB is providing a new model specially developed for ports to the Maritime Affairs and Port Office.
With the recent expansion of new and renewable energy and the establishment of a smart grid, STB seems to have a bright prospect in the power storage device market, especially as decentralized power supply system is emerging as an alternative power supply method to reduce power dissipation and power transmission and distribution cost.
