• Battery storage helps to stabilize the electricity system by providing system services
• Intelligent interaction of battery storage systems to support redispatch in the transmission network

Bayreuth/Oldenburg, xx. October 2021. Transmission system operator TenneT TSO GmbH and EWE subsidiary be.storaged GmbH, which specializes in services relating to the construction and operation of battery storage systems, are collaborating on a pilot project that will test support for redispatch in the transmission network through the intelligent interaction of decentralised battery storage systems.

To do this, be.storaged will bundle the flexibility potential of different battery storage systems via an agent-based energy management system and transfer it to the aggregated flexibility potential in the event of bottlenecks in the power grid. This will not only increase the economic value of the battery storage systems participating in the pilot project, but also allow them to contribute to a successful energy transition.

Agent-based energy management system increases the flexibility potential of battery storage systems for redispatch

Until now, battery storage systems have primarily been used in a so-called ‘single-use operation’, e.g., to increase the consumption of photovoltaic electricity among household customers or to limit load peaks for commercial customers. However, the existing flexibility potential for the various uses in the electricity and system service markets remains mostly unused. As such, be.storaged has developed an agent-based decentralised energy management system with the Oldenburg OFFIS Institute for Computer Science, which enables a ‘multi-purpose operation’ of battery storage.

In the pilot project with TenneT, local agents connect the individual battery storage systems to form a swarm and the pooled flexibility potential that is still available is transported from be.storaged to TenneT via the Equigy Crowd Balancing Platform. Depending on the respective load flow situation, this enables TenneT to test how the flexibility potential of battery storage systems can support redispatch. The pilot project will see an agent-based and a blockchain-based platform linked for the first time in order to give small-scale flexibility potentials efficient access to the system service markets.

Background

The expansion of renewable energies is increasingly leading to decentralised structures in the lower-level German energy distribution system. This will massively increase the number of small producers, storage facilities and consumers in the coming years. At the same time, the high feed-in of fluctuating renewable energies is leading to transport bottlenecks in the transmission network. In the future, there will be less and less conventional generation capacity from large power plants available to manage these network bottlenecks and to compensate for fluctuations in electricity generation and consumption. Once intelligently networked and integrated into the system service markets, the flexibility potential of millions of decentralised producers, storage facilities and consumers can make a major contribution to the control of power grids.

Use of blockchain-based technologies

The provision of system services for the control reserve market and redispatch from millions of individual systems requires a new approach to automated control and integration into the processes of TSOs, as well as technical solutions from device manufacturers and energy service providers. As such, TenneT has developed a cross-border blockchain-based data platform – the Equigy Crowd Balancing Platform – together with a number of European TSOs. This platform will make it easier for millions of households in Germany and Europe to actively offer the flexibility of their systems via electricity providers and manufacturers on the system service markets, and so help stabilise the electricity grid. Equigy enables the automated integration and control of these systems into the processes of network operators and market parties.

Press Contact: 

TenneT TSO GmbH
Mathias Fischer
T +49 921 507 404 044
mathias.fischer@tennet.eu 

Katharina Schütz
T +49 441 480 518 17
katharina.schuetz@ewe.de 

About TenneT:

TenneT is a leading European network operator that is committed to a secure and reliable power supply – 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. We are shaping the energy transition for a sustainable energy future. As the first cross-border TSO, we plan, build, and operate an almost 24,000 km-long high and extra-high voltage network in the Netherlands and Germany and are one of the largest investors in national and international electricity networks on land and at sea. Every day our 5,700 employees take ownership, show courage, and make and maintain connections to ensure that the supply and demand of electricity is balanced for over 42 million people. Lighting the way ahead together.

About be.storaged:

Based in Oldenburg, be.storaged is a wholly-owned subsidiary of EWE AG, the fifth largest energy supplier in Germany whose main supply area is in the northwest of the country. be.storaged GmbH aims to integrate battery storage solutions into the operations of commercial and industrial customers. The energy and transport transition poses new challenges for the use of battery storage systems. We want to counter these with the use of innovative storage solutions and the associated control and optimisation software.

About Equigy

Equigy plays a key role in the acceleration of the energy transition and the integration of the energy system. With the European crowd balancing platform, Equigy creates a trusted data exchange to enable aggregators to participate with smaller flexibility devices, such as home batteries and electric vehicles, in electricity balancing markets, turning consumers into prosumers. Owned by leading European transmission system operators, Equigy aims to set cross-industry standards throughout Europe, to support a future-proof, reliable and cost-effective power system that is independent of fossil fuel-based flexibility sources.