12 January 2026

^{This article is based on an exclusive MoveTheNeedle.news interview with Stryten.}

 

As electrification accelerates and data-center demand surges, energy storage is no longer a peripheral technology. It has become a structural requirement for grid stability, industrial resilience, and the continued rollout of renewable energy. What remains unresolved is how storage should be deployed—and whether the industry’s growing reliance on lithium-ion batteries alone is sufficient.

Stryten Energy argues it is not.

The U.S.-based manufacturer positions itself as a battery-first, technology-agnostic energy storage company, supplying advanced lead, lithium, and vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) for a wide range of industrial and grid-scale applications. Rather than promoting a single chemistry, Stryten’s strategy is built around matching battery technologies to specific operational needs—whether that involves safety constraints, long-duration storage, or lifecycle economics.

Stryten's batteries already power forklifts in warehouses, rolling stock, submarines, telecom networks, and critical infrastructure. Increasingly, however, those same technologies are being deployed in stationary Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), where reliability and resilience matter as much as energy density.

From backup to infrastructure

Historically, much of Stryten’s portfolio—particularly its advanced lead batteries—has been associated with uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems. These batteries have long provided backup power for nuclear facilities, data centers, and cell phone towers. Their role was largely passive: insurance against failure.

That role is changing.

“Today, Stryten is finding new markets and use cases for these same batteries for Battery Energy Storage Systems, along with newer chemistries such as lithium and vanadium,” Scott Childers, VP of Essential Power at Stryten Energy, explains. "Instead of waiting for outages, batteries are now charged and discharged daily, absorbing excess renewable generation, reducing peak demand, and stabilizing microgrids."

Stryten’s Essential Power division focuses on these applications, developing BESS products for behind-the-meter microgrids as well as larger, front-of-the-meter installations. This reflects a broader shift in energy infrastructure, as storage moves from contingency planning into the core of system design.

What battery-first means

Central to Stryten’s approach is what it calls a “battery-first” philosophy. Rather than treating storage as an accessory to generation, the model prioritizes storing energy first and deciding how and when to deploy it later.

“The central idea behind our battery-first approach is the efficient use of power generated from intermittent and carbon-based sources,” Childers says. By storing energy immediately, operators are no longer constrained by real-time conditions such as time of day or sudden load changes.

This matters because every energy transfer introduces losses. A battery-first system, supported by algorithms or AI-based dispatch models, allows operators to coordinate generation assets more efficiently and reduce unnecessary runtime.

Diesel generators provide a clear illustration. “Most of the time, a diesel generator is turned on without notice due to an emergency power need,” says Childers. That typically leads to fluctuating loads and prolonged idling—both inefficient and costly. With a battery-first configuration, generators can be run only when needed and at optimal efficiency, charging batteries instead of directly following demand. According to Stryten, this can reduce diesel runtime by 50 percent or more in suitable deployments.

The company is careful to avoid blanket claims. “The battery-first approach is not suitable for every situation,” Childers notes, "but in hybrid microgrids it often improves overall system efficiency and asset utilization."

Why chemistry flexibility matters

Stryten’s insistence on being technology-agnostic runs counter to an industry narrative increasingly dominated by lithium-ion batteries. Yet storage requirements vary widely depending on context.

“There are probably hundreds of chemistries within just lithium-ion types alone,” says Childers, alongside numerous non-electrochemical storage methods. Each comes with trade-offs around cost, safety, recyclability, and duration.

After evaluating those trade-offs, Stryten narrowed its focus to three electrochemistries it believes cover most real-world BESS needs: advanced lead, lithium, and vanadium redox flow.

In practice, that flexibility allows projects to adapt to physical and regulatory constraints. Campus environments with older buildings, for example, may prohibit indoor lithium installations due to fire risk. In those cases, advanced lead batteries—non-flammable and well understood—can be deployed inside existing structures. Conversely, industrial sites with large solar installations may need eight to twelve hours of storage to shift daytime overproduction into overnight demand, a use case better suited to long-duration technologies such as VRFBs.

The implication is pragmatic rather than ideological: no single chemistry is optimal everywhere.

CES as proof point

That pragmatism was visible last week at CES, where Stryten presented all three of its battery chemistries side by side. Rather than centering its presence on a single flagship product, the company used the event to illustrate how different storage technologies can coexist within one energy ecosystem.

The focal point of the booth was Stryten’s lead-based BESS, including the E-Series Lead BESS100. “Our pioneering lead BESS was the first thing visitors saw,” says Childers.

While lead batteries are commonplace in industrial backup systems, packaged lead-based BESS products for modern grid and microgrid applications remain uncommon. Stryten positioned the system as a safe, reliable, and recyclable option for businesses seeking cost control and operational continuity.

Stryten also showcased a mobile microgrid housed in a hybrid diesel-electric Jeep. Designed for disaster response and remote deployments, the vehicle integrates a diesel generator with lithium batteries using proprietary software and electrical interfaces. According to the company, the system can fast-charge 26 lithium battery packs in 15 minutes and supply enough energy to power an average U.S. home for several days, or support broader community needs during emergencies.

The third element of the display was a compact vanadium redox flow battery developed with Storion Energy, a joint venture between Stryten Energy and Largo Clean Energy. Flow batteries are widely regarded as safe and durable, with operational lifetimes that can exceed 20 years, but have historically faced cost and supply-chain challenges.

“VRFB technology offers safe, scalable, and long-duration storage for critical infrastructure, including utilities and AI and data centers,” says Childers.

Through Storion, Stryten aims to reduce barriers to adoption by offering vertically integrated components, including power assembly stacks and competitively priced electrolyte.

Where innovation happens

While much industry attention focuses on battery chemistry breakthroughs, Stryten emphasizes innovation at the system and process level.

“Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries are a mature technology,” Childers explains. “The innovation we have brought to this technology is on the process side, making it price-competitive with lithium.” Combined with advantages in depth of discharge, non-degradation, and recyclability, this positions VRFBs for wider deployment in front-of-the-meter projects and data centers.

At the smaller end of the market, Stryten has focused on simplifying deployment. By integrating advanced lead batteries into plug-and-play systems, the company aims to make BESS accessible to smaller solar and microgrid installers without specialized battery expertise.

Software plays a unifying role across these efforts. The mobile microgrid, for example, illustrates how coordinated control of multiple energy assets can improve resilience—a capability that is becoming increasingly important as hybrid systems grow more complex.

Storage as core infrastructure

Looking to the future, Stryten expects integration and simplicity to become defining factors in energy storage adoption. “The simplicity of installing interconnectivity with various energy assets will continue to be critical,” says Childers, "particularly for behind-the-meter projects."

The company says it has addressed traditional concerns around cycle life and degradation across its portfolio and is now focused on extending longevity further. Longer service life directly reduces total cost of ownership, a key metric as storage shifts from pilot projects to permanent infrastructure.

As a domestic manufacturer producing 15 GWh of storage capacity annually, Stryten frames its strategy in terms of U.S. energy resilience. Aging grid infrastructure, the reshoring of manufacturing, increased electrification, and the rapid expansion of AI and data centers are converging into a sustained demand for reliable power.

“We are prioritizing our battery-first approach to help our customers efficiently use the power generated from all energy sources,” says Childers. In that view, batteries are not just components but system-level assets—absorbing volatility, improving efficiency, and reinforcing energy security.

In an industry still searching for a universal storage solution, Stryten’s position is clear: resilience will not come from betting on a single chemistry, but from building energy systems flexible enough to adapt to an increasingly complex grid.

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