Groupe Renault launching project to build biggest energy stationary storage system from EV batteries in Europe
25 September 2018
Groupe Renault is launching its “Advanced Battery Storage” program, which aims to build the biggest energy stationary storage system using EV batteries yet designed in Europe by 2020 (power: 70 MW / energy: 60MWh).
It will have a storage capacity of at least 60 MWh, making it the biggest system of its kind ever built in Europe. The first facilities will be developed in early 2019 on three sites in France and Germany: at the Renault plants in Douai and Cléon and at a former coal-fired plant in North Rhine-Westphalia. The storage capacity will then be gradually expanded over time to contain the energy of 2,000 EV batteries. At this phase, the system will have reached—or more likely, exceeded—the 60 MWh, equivalent to the daily consumption of a city of 5,000 households.
“Advanced Battery Storage” is part of Groupe Renault’s strategy to develop a smart electric ecosystem in favor of the energy transition.
The purpose of this system is to manage the difference between electricity consumption and production at a given time, in order to increase the proportion of renewable sources in the energy mix. This means maintaining the balance between offer and demand on the electricity grid by integrating different energy sources with fluctuating production capacities. The slightest gap between consumption and production sets off disturbances that can compromise the stability of the local frequency (50 Hz).
Our stationary storage solution aims to offset these differences: it delivers its reserves to a point of imbalance in the grid at a given time to reduce the effects.
—Nicolas Schottey, Director of the Groupe Renault New Business Energy program
This stationary storage system is built using EV batteries compiled in containers. The system uses second-life batteries, as well as new batteries stored for future use in standard replacement during after-sales operations.
This unique assembly will give Advanced Battery Storage the capacity to generate or absorb, instantaneously the 70MW power. This high power combined with high capacity of our solution will allow to react efficiently to all major grid solicitations.
—Nicolas Schottey
Groupe Renault is extending beyond its role as a vehicle manufacturer to become a player in the smart electric and energy ecosystems, with the help of its partners. As part of the “Advanced Battery Storage” program, Groupe Renault has joined up with several players including La Banque des Territoires, the Mitsui Group, Demeter (via le Fonds de Modernisation Ecologique des Transports), and The Mobility House.
70 MW total, duration less than an hour.
France has 63,100 MW of nuclear capacity alone.
How long will it take to accumulate enough second-life batteries to stock this thing? And what customer is going to want to buy a used battery that's been in this facility?
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 25 September 2018 at 09:24 AM
Why would anyone buy a battery that has been in this system?
It is the other way round, these are batteries presently in cars etc and after use as stationary storage they will be scrapped/recycled.
60MWh = 2,000 of the first Nissan Leaf battery cars, so how long to accumulate them is trivial to calculate from the sales of Renault/Nissan a few years ago.
Posted by: Davemart | 25 September 2018 at 12:11 PM
@EP
63GW of generating capacity built across a country over 3 decades vs 3 local storage installation.
I'm not sure the point of such an apples and oranges comparison.
As a tentative start, it does go someway to addressing a perennial problem France has with a relatively inflexible generation system. EDF has protracted periods where they dump excess capacity for a pittance, then have to import to service high demand at top dollar. You can clearly see it on the UK -France interconnector patterns at GridWatch.
Maths is your friend on used batteries:
60MWh = 40kWh car pack x 0.75 of original capacity x 2000 cars
In Europe, Renault sold 30k ZOEs in 2017, enough for 15 of these facilities a year at current sales rates but sales are on something of an upward trajectory.
BTW Renault leases batteries so the desire of owners to buy slightly used batteries is not relevant.
I'd happily take a slightly used 40kWh pack to replace the old 22kWh pack of my ZOE.
Posted by: Thomas Lankester | 25 September 2018 at 12:25 PM
Davemart, FTA:
Who's going to want a battery in less-than-new condition, unless it comes at a steep discount?Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 25 September 2018 at 01:14 PM
Why be do pessimistic .this is beginning of storage systems and one day it will rival france nuclear capacity.
Posted by: nirmalkumar | 25 September 2018 at 08:38 PM
@EP
Well, referring back to my earlier post - me.
This is a 'standard replacement during after sales operations' i.e. lease contracts. So would I have an old (25% lost capacity) 22kWh pack replaced by a (5% lost capacity) 40kWh pack. Darn tootin!
I mean, why wouldn't you?
Posted by: Thomas Lankester | 26 September 2018 at 11:18 AM
Why wouldn't you want to at least start out with the full rated capacity of the pack, instead of just 95%? Having to come back for another swap that much sooner is another disadvantage. I'd expect a discount on the lease rate for that.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 27 September 2018 at 09:47 AM
Much like Tesla sold its cells that weren't quite automotive grade as the PowerWall (for which they were perfectly adequate), this might be a higher value use for that type of "garbage" as well as those packs which had aged out of cars.
Posted by: A Facebook User | 27 September 2018 at 08:07 PM
Faceborg Luser, we are talking about pre-degrading packs BEFORE they are used in cars. Please try to keep up here.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 27 September 2018 at 08:17 PM