First energy storage system V-Storage
The first energy storage system from V-Storage – the joint venture between Scholt Energy Control and VDL Groep – is now in service. The system is the first in the Netherlands to deliver 'balancing energy' to network manager TenneT. The large battery is located on the grounds of VDL ETG in Eindhoven.
Extensive testing of the energy storage system was conducted during the first months of this year. Operational control of the battery has since been transferred to Scholt Energy Control, which takes responsibility for the energy trading and system monitoring on behalf of V-Storage.
Maintaining the balance
From now on the battery will help maintain the balance on the Dutch high voltage grid. The strong growth of renewable energy is making the availability of electricity ever more unpredictable. Fluctuations in production, particularly of wind and solar energy, are making it difficult to maintain balance on the network. Batteries will therefore begin to play an important role. When lots of electricity is available from renewable energy sources, the electricity can be stored in the battery. During periods of peak demand for electricity, additional energy – referred to as 'balancing energy' – will then be directly available from the battery. A strategy of storing surpluses of renewable energy in batteries can eliminate the need for costly expansion of the Netherlands’ power grid.
By making the storage capacity of the battery available to the national electricity network, traditional, polluting power stations – which boost their output when demand for power rises – will eventually become redundant. In this way the batteries also contribute to increasing the sustainability of the energy we consume.
Energy storage system
The energy storage system on the premises of VDL ETG consists of two separate compartments. One side contains the control system. This is where the battery management system monitors the state of charge, voltage and temperature of the batteries. The connections to the energy sources and the network are also regulated here, based on supply and demand. This is necessary because today's power grids are not suitable for the direct connection of fluctuating alternative energy sources, which can lead to problems such as voltage surges. Therefore the battery also maintains a good balance with the network to which it is connected. The other compartment contains the batteries. This space is kept at a constant temperature of about 23 °C, because this ensures optimum performance of the lithium-ion batteries and improves battery life. This first energy storage system for V-Storage currently contains new batteries.
VDL Groep and Scholt Energy Control expect to quickly expand the number of batteries and their applications. Over the next few years electric transport is set to really take off in the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, for example, all public transport buses must be powered by electricity by 2025. This year there are already 140 VDL electric buses in service in the Netherlands. When the batteries are no longer suitable for electric vehicles they can be given a second life in the V-Storage energy storage system. As electric bus operations scale up, energy storage systems could also be employed to assist in the charging of the buses. Buses would then be partially charged with energy stored in the used batteries, a fine example of the circular economy.