Continuous test operation begins for large-format Li-ion energy storage system at power plant
11 July 2013
Evonik Industries, STEAG, and other project partners put a lithium electricity storage system (LESSY) into operation at STEAG’s Fenne power plant in Völklingen, Saarland, Germany. The research project is a collaborative venture between Evonik, STEAG Power Saar GmbH, Li-Tec Battery GmbH, Digatron Industrie-Elektronik GmbH, the EWE Next Energy and Power Engineering Saar institutes, and the Universität Münster. The large-format energy storage system was developed under a research initiative sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
LESSY is based on the lithium-ion battery technology that Evonik developed specially for electro mobility. The system is designed to accommodate 4,700 lithium-ion battery cells with a storage capacity of around 700 kWh and an output of around 1 megawatt.
At the Völklingen-Fenne site, STEAG operates several plants for the generation of electricity, district heat and process steam: the Völklingen Model Power Plant (MKV); the Völklingen combined heat and power plant (HKV); another combined heat and power plant (Fenne I), one mine gas engine plant; and a gas turbine. Installed capacity is 466 MW.
LESSY functions by creating a buffer when more energy is generated than consumed. The storage system, which is housed in a shipping container, can thus help to stabilize the grid. The ramp-up of test operations now underway will show whether lithium-ion storage systems can reliably fulfill this function of grid stabilization.
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