The largest lithium battery in the world

In South Australia, Elon Musk built the world's largest lithium battery with the energy storage capacity of 100 megawatt hours (MW). Such an amount of energy can provide electricity for 30 000 households for one hour. 

Just a few weeks after its opening, the lithium battery power station created a new world record: it delivered 100 MW of electricity in 140 milliseconds to the national grid. How fast exactly is this reaction speed?

It takes 30 minutes to one hour for the former power station to deliver such an amount of electricity. A power plant in Vitora State, Australia, broke down last week, bringing long power outage in the area. 

The storage stations need to deliver stored energy to the national grid to prevent inconveniences to families in the surrounding towns. 

The reaction speed of Tesla's giant lithium battery is thus striking, bringing 100 MW in only 140 milliseconds to the Australian national grid. 

The head of the energy department for South Australia Tom Koutsantonis said in an interview: “Getting a world record certificate, state operators are amazed by the speed and efficiency of the battery's delivery.”

Not only is the reaction speed faster than expected, its function is preceding to other power back-up supplies, he added. 

Tesla's CEO Musk took part in the early stage of building the South Australian project, as the project is actually a bet between Musk and other technical giants (including Australian technology company Atlassian).

Musk heard that Australian government was looking for a large-scale power outages solution as the region suffered a huge fifty-years storm in September 2016, bringing 1 700 000 households to temporary blackout.