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Energy Storage Systems: added value and innovation

Batteries plus software mean innovative energy storage solutions for consumers, utilities, companies and grid operators

The invention of the first rechargeable battery by French physicist Gaston Planté dates back to 1859. This advancement came 60 years after Alessandro Volta’s breakthrough invention of the electric battery, leading the way to the 19th century’s electric revolution, drawing immense praise from none other than Napoleon Bonaparte.

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One and half-century later, research and innovation focusing on how to store energy, generated increasingly advanced, efficient, sustainable and intelligent energy storage solutions.

 

By today’s standards, Planté’s idea surpassed Volta’s, as it allowed the same battery to stockpile energy, ushering in an era of applications that vary significantly, based on their composition and the processes they generate, but all in all, both battery types are now a regular presence in our daily lives, as they power instruments, devices, and machines that define the contemporary way of living.

Storage systems: energy becomes even bigger

The invention of the first rechargeable battery by French physicist Gaston Planté dates back to 1859. This advancement came 60 years after Alessandro Volta’s breakthrough invention of the electric battery, leading the way to the 19th century’s electric revolution, drawing immense praise from none other than Napoleon Bonaparte.

One and half-century later, research and innovation focusing on how to store energy, generated increasingly advanced, efficient, sustainable and intelligent energy storage solutions.

By today’s standards, Planté’s idea surpassed Volta’s, as it allowed the same battery to stockpile energy, ushering in an era of applications that vary significantly, based on their composition and the processes they generate, but all in all, both battery types are now a regular presence in our daily lives, as they power instruments, devices, and machines that define the contemporary way of living.

The energy revolution in six stages

Storage systems address many needs of the energy sector and focus on how to store energy as they find their application both in the so-called Front of the Meter (FTM) context - integrated into power stations and the power grid - and in the Behind the Meter (BTM) sector, namely in the Customer & Industrial (C&I) context and in residential applications for behind the meter energy storage.

1

Peak shaving

In other words, the reduction of peak loads for a specific facility, exploiting the possibility to store energy to be subsequently used during peak loads, obtaining savings in the energy tariff component pertaining to the applied energy supply.
2

Arbitrage

Consisting of the charging process of a battery when energy prices are lower (e.g. at night), while using its energy when prices are higher to generate earnings from the price difference. The arbitrage can be applied to both fixed tariffs (e.g. “Time of Use” tariffs, where prices depend on the time of withdrawal) and energy markets (e.g. wholesale, balancing).
3

Self-consumption

Meaning, storing the locally generated energy surplus from renewable sources to use it at a later time, thus reducing the degree of dependency of a network facility while compensating the intermittent nature of renewables.
4

Resilience

Specifically, the guarantee of a supply continuity for manufacturing activities by managing interruptions in the power grid.
5

Power Quality

Namely, improving the quality of energy used in a facility, by carrying out voltage and reactive power compensation, in order to keep such parameters within network and site operational limits and preserve machinery from damages.
6

Network services

Thanks to their ability to rapidly and accurately modulate generated or absorbed power, storage systems can provide the power grid with a wide range of services, balancing its supply while reducing management costs.
six stages

The Innovation Journey

From Volta and Planté to today’s high-tech wizardry, the journey of innovation has come a long way in energy storage solutions. The battery has become a smart device, harnessing software power to manage flows and the abovementioned services, and today’s battery is all about intelligent energy storage.

The journey is still ongoing, and as Li-ion batteries and AI are gradually strengthening their ties, the goal to create a new model for sustainable development is getting closer, fostering the opportunity to share energy conservation tips for businesses and consumers - the so-called C&I - and offer cost-effective energy storage business models and solutions for their energy needs entailing resilience, flexibility, efficiency and convenience.

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