On we go with our Energy Storage Highlights Countdown. In the run-up to next week’s Energy Storage Europe Düsseldorf – to be held from Tuesday to Thursday – Messe Düsseldorf has partnered with pv magazine to produce a special publication for the event. As part of the project, we tasked an independent jury of experts to rank a range of Energy Storage Highlights that will be exhibited at the event.
Come to our highlight ceremony
There you have the chance to meet experts from the companies of the five top-ranked submissions.
Among them, Sebastian Gerhard, director of batteries and solar at Vattenfall, will be in attendance to receive an award.
Join us, along with Sebastian and the other top-ranked experts, for an opportunity to deep dive into the exciting innovations and technologies leading the energy storage sector.
The full ranking will appear in the Energy Storage special issue. Last week we presented a thermoelectric energy storage approach by MAN Energy Solutions and yesterday we highlighted third place in our ranking – an open source software platform for energy management systems.
And now …
#2 Vattenfall, Nordex, CC4E
Turning renewables into grid stabilizers
The challenge posed by the fluctuating nature of renewable energy has caused concern for network operators for some time but has also opened up a market for storage system suppliers. With ever-increasing renewables penetration, fossil fuel generators that can provide grid stabilizing functions, electricity markets, energy providers and grid operators are partnering with researchers to find cheaper and more sustainable solutions.
In an attempt to turn renewable energy resources from a liability to an asset, in terms of grid stability, Swedish power company Vattenfall – in partnership with Nordex Energy GmbH and the Competence Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CC4E) at Hamburg University of Applied Sciences – collocated a lithium-ion storage system with the Curslack wind park in northern Germany.
The wind farm boasts a power output of 12.6 MW and since November has been equipped with a 720 kW/792 kWh lithium-ion storage system. Wind turbines charge the batteries and feed into the grid via a shared access point, using a specialized load management system.
By collocating the wind park and battery, the researchers used wind energy to provide primary balancing power as well as a spinning reserve for which the project aims to develop and test business models. Looking further ahead, the team wants to provide re-dispatching power and reactive power with their system. Technical viability is only one aspect of the project, the team is also considering market regulations that would benefit such applications.
While this project charges the battery and feeds wind power into the grid, the team behind it says the research that results from its operation will benefit the solar industry too. PV struggles with the same issues of fluctuation and could also benefit from collocation with storage systems. Various forms of grid ancillary services would be offered in the same way by solar-plus-storage projects.
The Vattenfall project runs under the auspices of the NEW 4.0 Norddeutsche EnergieWende collaborative scheme. Accordingly, 60 partners –comprising economic, scientific and political actors – have laid out a roadmap to source 100% of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein’s electricity demand from renewables.
Jury comments:
Julian Jansen: “The NEW 4.0 project is at the forefront of bringing together key stakeholders from across the energy industry to help shape how a future decentralized, low-carbon, digital and customer-centric energy system may work.”
Logan Goldie-Scott: “Energy storage is making possible truer competition between renewable energy and thermal assets across more time frames. Pilots such as this will help build out the use case.”
Florian Mayr: “[The project is an] holistic approach to proactively push for a market framework that would allow to further monetize the value of storage. Although in [its] pilot phase, the approach and the specific topic are relevant for industry and [the] energy transition.”
Vattenfall can be found at Energy Storage Europe in Düsseldorf, in Hall 8b at booth F18-1.
The jury
Xavier Daval
Daval is an international solar and storage expert as well as CEO of French solar technical advisory firm kiloWattsol SAS, which he founded in 2007. He is an electrical engineer and former director for the EMEA region for an NYSE-listed manufacturer of tools for the electronics industry. He is also VP of French renewable energy association Syndicat des Energies Renouvelables, chair of its solar commission and director of the Global Solar Council.
Logan Goldie-Scot
Goldie-Scot heads the energy storage insight team at BloombergNEF. He leads the company’s analysis on the global energy storage markets, providing insights on technology, markets, policies and regulation, as well as the competitive landscape. He also oversees the company’s analysis of supply chains.
Rolf Heynen
Heynen is director of Good! New Energy. Good! is known for the annual Dutch Solar Trend Report – also published in English – the Solar Quarterly, the Solar Solutions international trade fair and the Solar Business Day conference. Good! is also active in renewable heating, smart lighting and buildings, energy storage, consulting, energy modeling and market research. Heynen holds degrees in electrical engineering and political science.
Mark Higgins
Higgins is chief operating officer of Strategen, a professional services firm focused on market development for a decarbonized grid. His broad energy sector experience before Strategen included serving as director of utility west at SunEdison, VP of finance for Hu Honua Bioenergy, and as Pacific Gas & Electric’s lead in key policy areas including interconnection and transmission planning.
Julian Jansen
Jansen is a research manager at IHS Markit Technology. He leads the group’s global research on stationary energy storage and provides insight on the key value drivers and emerging business models accelerating storage deployment across Europe and North America. Jansen also delivers strategic advice for bespoke projects featuring new energy technologies.
Florian Mayr
Mayr is a partner at Apricum and head of its energy storage, digital energy and green mobility practices. He is an expert in strategy, business development and transaction advisory in global renewable energy markets. Mayr advises cleantech companies on corporate and project financing. Before Apricum, he spent eight years in senior positions at McKinsey & Company and RWE.
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