Energy storage company Fluence and transmission system operator TransnetBW said they would deploy the “world’s largest” battery-based energy storage-as-transmission project in Germany. The project will improve energy security and support Germany’s energy transition by increasing the efficiency of the existing grid infrastructure.
The 250 MW battery-based energy storage system (ESS), supplied by Fluence, will be located at Kupferzell, a major grid hub. The “Netzbooster” project is planned for completion in 2025.
It will use a one-hour system to manage contingency events, using lithium battery technology. The chosen battery cathode chemistry is lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4).
The project is designed to allow for the more efficient operation of existing transmission infrastructure and lower preventive redispatch measures. It will also ease bottlenecks in transporting wind energy from Germany’s north – where the wind blows most – to the country’s southern load centres.
If the transmission grid fails, TransnetBW’s Netzbooster system will react within milliseconds to provide back-up capacity to maintain power system stability.
Fluence said the system will deliver a suite of complex services, including synthetic inertia, dynamic voltage control, contingency support and congestion management.
The use of energy storage to support transmission and distribution networks is expected to scale quickly, as network congestion caused by increasing renewable penetration will require greater grid reinforcement and release interventions, it added.
Germany’s nuclear and coal power plants are being shut down. Many of them are in the south near big industrial load centres like Munich and Stuttgart.
Separately, Fluence announced the commercial operation of a combined 908 MWh lithium battery-based energy storage system complex. Located in Lancaster, California, the AES Corporation projects include the 100 MW / 400 MWh Luna Battery Storage Project and 127 MW / 508 MWh Lancaster Area Battery energy storage system. It comprises one of the largest energy storage complexes operating in California or the world.
Photo: TransnetBW’s projected Netzbooster system
