Supply and demand for electricity are currently kept in balance primarily by controllable fossil power plants. In the course of the energy transition, the entire energy requirement is to be switched to renewable energy sources, thereby drastically reducing the emission of greenhouse gases. Sufficient renewable energy is available: Germany alone produces as much solar energy every year as is consumed worldwide. However, unlike fossil power plants, renewable sources are less reliable, subject to external factors and seasonal and daily fluctuations.
WHY IS BATTERY STORAGE SO IMPORTANT?
Storage can compensate for these fluctuations and allow supply and demand to be aligned. Available green electricity is temporarily stored when wind and sun provide too much energy and released when more electricity is consumed than is generated. Renewable energies can only be regulated for the grid through storage. Too much or too little energy changes the frequency of the network and causes instability, in extreme cases this leads to blackouts. The higher the fluctuations in production, the higher the risk of frequency fluctuations. Storage systems can smooth out these fluctuations quickly and as needed by absorbing or releasing energy as required. In terms of available capacity, pumped storage power plants are currently the most important storage technology in Germany. However, these are neither quickly scalable nor does the storage potential caused by the topology cover the demand.
Battery storage systems offer a simple, quickly scalable and flexibly adaptable way to build up the required storage capacity. In order to reduce dependence on energy imports as far as possible, decentralized electricity storage systems must be set up throughout Germany, which react to domestic production as required. Decentralized electricity storage can equalize local and national load differences and thus ensure the supply of consumers.
ENERGY TRANSITION – A QUESTION OF COST
The energy transition requires the support and acceptance of society. In order for ecologically sensible technologies to establish themselves quickly, they must also be affordable for everyone. In order to secure the supply and to compensate for fluctuations, it must make economic sense to store green electricity and withdraw it when required. To do this, the storage costs of battery storage systems must continue to fall.
Hydrogen is a chemical form of energy storage. In order to make energy usable in the form of hydrogen, water must first be split into hydrogen and oxygen with the help of excess electricity, i.e. electricity that is not directly consumed. Only after repeated conversion can the stored energy be used in the form of electricity. Due to these efficiency losses, it will only be used where green electricity cannot be used directly or where fuel is essential for an industrial process.
The cheapest way for the energy transition is a balanced mix of technologies. For this purpose, the expansion of wind and solar must be promoted and heating, transport and industry must be electrified. To secure the supply, decentralized large and small storage systems are installed, which balance electrical loads and distribute them throughout the country. Hydrogen is used where electricity alone is not enough.
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AXSOL solutions are based on the currently safest lithium-based battery technology, lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4), and can be adapted to new battery technologies.
The AXSOL Energy Container Solutions (ECS) offer a scalable platform for large-scale battery storage to secure the current flow, frequency and supply. By interconnecting several ECS, battery storage can be set up for grid connection optimization of wind and solar parks, provision of control energy or for grid stabilization. In addition, the platform enables self-consumption optimization and uninterruptible power supply for large consumers such as industry.
