RWE Builds Hydropower Coupled 117MW Battery Storage Systems in Germany

Essen-headquartered German multinational energy company, RWE has announced the construction of one of the largest and most innovative battery energy storage systems (BESS) in Germany.

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The BESS is coupled with the existing run-of-river hydroelectric power plants. The battery systems will be spread across two locations, as the company said that it will install a total capacity of 117 megawatts in Lingen in Lower Saxony and Werne in North Rhine-Westphalia.

The project will require an investment of around Euro 50 million and is expected to come into action by the end of 2022. According to RWE, the battery systems can be used to raise or decrease the flow-through of power at the hydropower plants, increasing the effective capacity available to be put into electricity system balancing markets. The hydroelectric generation adds about 15% extra capacity to the battery systems, with their primary application being to help maintain the grid’s operating frequency.

Speaking of the battery projects, North-Rhine Westphalia state minister for economic affairs and energy, Mr. Andreas Pinkwart stated, “Large battery storage systems in the megawatt category make a key contribution towards network stability in the new energy world. The implementation of this project at a power station with a tradition as long as Werne’s demonstrates impressively how competence and innovative technologies can be used to design the secure energy supply of the future,”

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As per the company, the planned system comprises 420 lithium-ion battery racks, housed in 47 overseas shipping containers spread across two RWE power stations. The system at the Gersteinwerk in Werne will have a capacity of 72 MW while the one at the Emsland station in Lingen will have 45 MW.

Recently this month, RWE, Royal Dutch Shell, Norway-based Equinor, and Dutch gas network company Gasunie came together to build a 300-MW electrolyzer in the German North Sea to produce green hydrogen from offshore wind.

The project partners have signed a letter of intent to collaborate on the AquaSector project – a large-scale German offshore hydrogen park.