25 February 2020 - By Dr Alistair Davidson

Batteries in action: hybrid energy storage project

Batteries in action: hybrid energy storage project

Demand for batteries to fulfil energy storage demand is set to grow significantly in the next few decades as governments transform their economies and energy companies invest in technologies to support climate change objectives.

A range of battery technologies will be required to meet this demand, and a hybrid energy storage project located in Aachen, Germany has been testing different battery technologies since 2016 with the objective of understanding their technical performance and economic viability.

M5BAT, a 5MW project operated by RWTH Aachen University, is utilizing two types of advanced lead battery technologies for energy storage.

CBI - Batteries In Action Series - M5BAT Hybrid Energy Storage Project

Provided by CBI member Exide Technologies, over 1,500 lead batteries are playing a central role in the strive to optimise battery performance for grid stability and integrating renewables into the energy market, whilst also demonstrating the ability to operate well in conjunction with other battery technologies such as lithium.

The advanced lead batteries used in the system are particularly suited for high energy loads. This is a vital technical requirement for energy storage applications where the intermittent nature of renewable energy such as wind and solar mean batteries need to store a lot of energy.

Read the full technical case study here.

By Dr Alistair Davidson

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