Bringing Phoenix’s Smart City to Life

EverSmart City is introducing the world’s first smart city fully integrated with blockchain technology and renewable technology. It will be a pilot sustainable city in the Phoenix metro area that promotes a circular economy and sustainable technology by providing affordable and sustainable housing solutions. It will be a mixed-use, occupant-owned, self-sustaining community with over 300 buildings. The ground level will host commercial storefronts with business owners living above. The Smart Cities are being built with shipping containers to provide affordable housing with cutting-edge renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, smart home tech, blockchain, and more.

Throughout the fall semester of 2021, GreenLight Solutions worked with EverSmart City whose vision is to operate entirely on solar energy during the day while being 100% offset at night time and remaining connected to the grid. Our goal is to research 5 energy storage options for EverSmart City on how to run the community on solar energy, present the best option, and determine the best plan of action for implementation. We set 3 key performance indicators (KPI) for our project.

KPI #1: research 5 energy storage options

Our team researched the 5 best energy storage options that are compatible with the solar energy produced during the day. Among the 5 different options, our final 3 options came out to Lithium-Ion, Sodium-Ion, and AGM batteries. These were mostly elected due to recyclability, safety, and cost.

KPI #2: come up with 3 alternative power options

Secondly, we worked to determine alternative power options to offset power usage overnight to ensure residents have temperature control, lighting when needed, and the ability to use appliances. Our final 3 options were hemp biogas, distributed wind, and solar water heating. These options were chosen mostly due to scalability and efficiency

KPI #3: create one final detailed plan

To complete this project, our team provided 5 total options based on the previous KPIs to determine the top 3 final presentation scenarios, with 1 preferred option. We created rubrics with a key to determine top options and determine the top three options, and based on the scalability we considered one option for Eversmart city.

Based on the decision-making rubrics we created, sodium-ion seemed like the best option due to the scalability that EverSmart City desires. Sodium-ion batteries are a safer alternative to lithium-ion batteries and they have no flammable materials or thermal runaway. It can also operate in a wider temperature range, which is ideal for Arizona’s desert climate. In addition, Sodium is more affordable and is a prosperous mineral so there is no need to think about the shortages, unlike lithium. Also, the whole unit can be made with more easily sourced materials. Our research showed that it has the great potential to be as effective or more effective than lithium-ion for stationary storage.

The Solutioneers on this project were Katelyn Cashman, Mitch Green, Samrina Jafrin. They finished this project with a deeper understanding of energy storage options and how these energy options can potentially run a community on solar energy to meet the need and save energy and the environment. They are very much happy and thankful for the opportunity to work on this project, and they now have quality experience in business communication, professional writing, and collaborative research through this project.

Written by: Samrina Jafrin, Katelyn Cashman, Mitch Green