AEW invests in energy grid stability
AEW and Hitachi Energy have launched the construction of a new battery storage project. The pilot project is intended to increase the security of supply during peak loads and lead to further insights into the future energy system.
AEW Energie AG has launched a battery storage project together with Hitachi Energy. The storage facility is scheduled to go into operation on the AEW site in Baden-Dättwil AG in October 2023.
The pilot project is intended to establish a solid energy supply and provide information about energy systems of the future. This is according to a media release. According to the statement, the companies have joined forces with students from the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW) in Windisch AG. The operating concept for the battery energy storage system (BESS) was developed as part of a student project. The goal is intelligent battery storage and innovative analysis, software and digital functions to cover peak loads, they say. The storage system is mainly used when demand is particularly high, for example at lunchtime.
The energy service provider AEW is thus responding to the increasingly decentralised expansion of sustainable energy supply. In the development towards an energy mix, the regeneratively generated electricity must be distributed among photovoltaic systems, heat pumps, storage units and electromobility. At the same time, the storage system is intended to increase the level of knowledge on the operation of battery technologies, grid stability and ageing behaviour.
Hitachi is providing the battery system. It provides 10 megawatt hours of usable capacity and an output of 5.5 megawatts. With a fully charged battery, the annual energy consumption of two four-person households can be covered or a community of 11,000 inhabitants can be supplied with electricity for about 45 to 60 minutes. The storage unit can be charged in less than two hours.