From ESS News

Japanese major Toshiba is pairing a 2 MW / 667 kWh high-power SCiB battery with a 2 MW / 15.33 MWh capacity-type system at a substation microgrid in Mongolia.

In an announcement, Toshia said it had begun manufacturing the power-type battery energy storage system, and preparing an energy management system (EMS) for the Darkhan substation in northern Mongolia, operated by state-owned transmission operator National Power Transmission Grid (NPTG).

Scheduled to enter operation in December 2027, the installation is funded through a Japanese government grant aid package. 

While single battery architectures are widely used, the Darkhan project embraces a two-battery hybrid approach. According to system specifications, the microgrid links a 10 MW solar PV plant with a 2 MW / 667 kWh power-type battery supplied by Toshiba and a 2 MW / 15.33 MWh capacity-type battery. 

The SCiB unit is then a 20-minute (3C) asset that may assist in managing high-frequency solar ramp control, while the companion battery, with its longer-duration 7.66-hour system is able to assist with peak shifting. Toshiba, in a supplied diagram, indicates the 15.33 MWh bulk battery isn’t Toshiba-made and is likely sourced from a third-party LFP supplier.

Toshiba is supplying the power-type unit using its SCiB rechargeable lithium-ion cells, which utilize a lithium titanate oxide (LTO) anode.

In theory, the system will reduce cycling stress on the 15.33 MWh capacity-type battery, reserving the latter for renewable peak shifting and supply-demand balancing.

This dual-system architecture is by no means alone in Asia. Hybrid storage plants are mixing flow batteries with conventional chemistries, and high-cycle assets or supercapacitors are co-located with energy-dense batteries to separate sub-second ramp control from multi-hour dispatch.

Toshiba’s EMS will forecast solar generation and power demand to coordinate both battery systems, while enabling remote monitoring and control from NPTG’s headquarters and its Darkhan branch.

Mongolia aims to increase the share of renewable energy in its total installed generation capacity to 30% by 2030.