EE220 — Battery Energy Storage Systems: Technologies and Applications

Approximately 12–13 hours  ·  Self-paced online  ·  GIEE BESS series

Battery storage has moved from pilot projects to a standard asset class on the grid. EE220 takes engineers and energy professionals from a general awareness of storage to genuine working command of it — able to read a BESS datasheet critically, calculate the metrics that govern every specification conversation, and explain how these systems are built from a single cell up to a containerized megawatt-scale installation.

Every concept is taught through real deployments and real engineering decisions. The power-versus-energy distinction is taught through the sizing mistakes that derail projects. Chemistry selection is taught through the trade-offs that pushed the industry toward LFP for utility-scale storage. System architecture is taught by building up from one cell to a complete system, component by component. The commercial and industrial context anchors the material, because it represents the largest design segment of the storage market, with meaningful coverage of residential and utility-scale applications alongside it. EE220 is the entry course of the GIEE BESS series, and the groundwork that makes the design work in EE221 and the codes and operations material in EE222 possible.

What You Will Learn

• Distinguish power from energy and apply the distinction correctly to sizing and specification conversations
• Read a BESS nameplate and datasheet critically, interpreting capacity, power, C-rate, and efficiency ratings
• Calculate the core metrics: capacity, C-rate, energy and power density, depth of discharge, state of charge, state of health, and round-trip efficiency
• Explain how a lithium-ion cell works: anode, cathode, electrolyte, and separator
• Distinguish NMC, LFP, NCA, and LTO by energy density, safety, cycle life, cost, and best-fit application
• Recognize emerging chemistries — sodium-ion, flow batteries, solid-state — and the roles they may take
• Map system architecture from cell to module to rack to system, including the role of the BMS, PCS, and EMS
• Distinguish DC-coupled from AC-coupled architectures at the conceptual level
• Recognize the landscape of applications across residential, C&I, and utility-scale settings, and explain value stacking

Course Structure

EE220 is organized into five modules, plus a comprehensive final exam.

• Module 1 — Foundational Electrical Concepts for BESS. The single most important module in the course. Power versus energy, the units that measure each (Ah, Wh, kWh, MWh), and the core metrics every specification conversation depends on: C-rate, energy density, power density, depth of discharge, state of charge, state of health, and round-trip efficiency.
• Module 2 — Understanding BESS. What a battery energy storage system actually is, why deployment has accelerated so sharply, the high-level architecture, and the landmark projects that shaped how the industry builds today.
• Module 3 — Battery Chemistry. How a lithium-ion cell works, the major chemistries in commercial deployment (NMC, LFP, NCA, LTO), the alternatives arriving behind them, and a structured framework for matching chemistry to application.
• Module 4 — BESS System Architecture. How cells scale into complete systems, what the battery management system is actually doing, how thermal management works, and an orientation to the power conversion and energy management layers.
• Module 5 — BESS Applications Taxonomy. An organized map of what storage is used for across residential, C&I, and utility-scale settings, including the concept of value stacking. This module establishes the landscape; detailed design and economics are developed in EE221, and codes and market rules in EE222.

Grounded in Real Deployments

Every lesson is anchored in systems that were actually built and are actually operating — deployments from developers and operators including Tesla, Fluence, AES, Wärtsilä, LS Energy Solutions, and Powin Energy, and landmark projects such as Hornsdale Power Reserve and Moss Landing. You will work with real datasheet figures, real chemistry comparisons, and the engineering decisions behind real installations. No generic "batteries in business" examples; every case study is grounded in energy storage.

Who This Course Is For

• Practicing engineers and energy professionals entering the storage field
• DER planning engineers and grid professionals
• Project developers, analysts, and consultants moving into the storage market
• Engineering managers and technical leads evaluating BESS projects and vendors
• Recent engineering graduates building expertise for storage roles

Prerequisites

• A technical or engineering background in any discipline is helpful
• Basic electrical concepts: AC and DC, voltage, current
• Familiarity with power systems is helpful but not required
• No prior battery storage knowledge required

Format and Access

• Duration: Approximately 12–13 hours of instruction
• Format: Self-paced online, with video instruction, embedded worked examples, and quizzes
• Access: Six months of full access from enrollment
• Completion window: 90 days to complete the coursework and the final exam
• Assessment: Five module quizzes (30% of grade) and a comprehensive final exam (70% of grade)
• Passing score: 70% overall
• Language: English
• AI tools: Encouraged for learning and worked examples; prohibited during quizzes and the final exam

Where This Course Leads

EE220 is the first of three courses in the GIEE BESS series. The architecture is foundations-first: EE220 builds the conceptual and quantitative groundwork, EE221 develops the design and calculation skills, and EE222 covers the codes, standards, and operational frameworks that govern real deployments.

• EE221 — BESS Design and Sizing. Moves from understanding systems to sizing them: design calculations, degradation and augmentation, and project economics.
• EE222 — BESS Grid Integration, Codes & Operations. Where compliance and operations are developed in depth: interconnection, applicable codes and standards, market participation, and operating practice.

EE220 also stands entirely on its own. Engineers and energy professionals who need to understand battery storage at a working level — without designing or specifying systems themselves — get lasting value from this course alone.