Energy sto­rage sys­tems are play­ing an incre­asingly important role in the indus­trial and com­mer­cial sec­tors. They per­form a variety of func­tions and ser­vices across the elec­tri­city, heat, and mobi­lity sec­tors, enhan­cing the relia­bi­lity, fle­xi­bi­lity, and effi­ci­ency of energy sup­ply. They also enable deeper uti­liza­tion of rene­wa­ble ener­gies and drive decar­bo­niza­tion efforts. Dif­fe­rent types of sto­rage sys­tems are deployed based on the requi­red energy form, tail­o­red to spe­ci­fic use cases in terms of power, capa­city, and space requi­re­ments. Tech­no­lo­gi­cally, a wide spec­trum is available: from super­ca­pa­ci­tors and various types of bat­te­ries to fly­wheel and liquid air sto­rage sys­tems for elec­tri­city and power. Dar­über hin­aus Addi­tio­nally, various ther­mal sto­rage tech­no­lo­gies serve to pro­vide heat, along with che­mi­cal sto­rage opti­ons like hydro­gen.

In the elec­tri­city sec­tor, a clas­sic appli­ca­tion for energy sto­rage is peak load manage­ment. Indus­tries and busi­nesses often expe­ri­ence high peak loads in elec­tri­city con­sump­tion. Peak loads lead directly to high cost char­ges due to high net­work fees. The use of energy sto­rage sys­tems cuts these peak loads and quickly saves enter­prise costs.

Fur­ther­more, sto­rage units are used to pro­vide an unin­ter­rup­ti­ble power sup­ply (UPS) as well as an emer­gency power sup­ply. Even very brief power outa­ges can lead to signi­fi­cant dama­ges and high costs. This is why an incre­asing num­ber of hos­pi­tals, ope­ra­ting rooms, data cen­ters, and ser­ver farms are incor­po­ra­ting bat­tery sto­rage as part of their UPS stra­tegy. In the indus­trial sec­tor, UPS sys­tems with sto­rage safe­guard pro­duc­tion pro­ces­ses and power sup­ply, pro­tec­ting machi­nery and equip­ment from damage.

Elec­tri­city sto­rage sys­tems also enable various other appli­ca­tion sce­na­rios. The usage of sto­rage can increase the share of rene­wa­ble ener­gies, opti­mize the self-con­sump­tion of gene­ra­ted elec­tri­city, and enhance the energy effi­ci­ency of pro­duc­tion pro­ces­ses. More and more com­pa­nies are beco­ming Pro­sumers, gene­ra­ting their own elec­tri­city par­ti­ally or enti­rely from rene­wa­ble sources such as PV, wind, or bio­gas instal­la­ti­ons. By sto­ring self-gene­ra­ted elec­tri­city when there is a sur­plus and releasing it when nee­ded, a com­pany can signi­fi­cantly increase its self-con­sump­tion of rene­wa­bles with the power it needs while redu­cing its car­bon foot­print.

Almost 75% of indus­trial energy demand is for heat gene­ra­tion. Almost two-thirds of this is in the high-tem­pe­ra­ture range above 250 degrees Cel­sius. The final form of energy requi­red is the­r­e­fore lar­gely pro­cess heat rather than elec­tri­city. Alt­hough ther­mal sto­rage sys­tems can also be used in the indus­trial and com­mer­cial mar­ket for hea­ting and hot water, their main area of appli­ca­tion is in pro­cess heat and waste heat uti­liza­tion. This enables indus­try decar­bo­niza­tion on the basis of rene­wa­ble ener­gies by means of sec­tor cou­pling. Ther­mal sto­rage sys­tems offer num­e­rous advan­ta­ges for indus­trial cus­to­mers. They can help increase energy effi­ci­ency in pro­duc­tion and save natu­ral gas. At the same time, they can improve the inte­gra­tion and use of waste heat in fur­ther pro­ces­ses, for hea­ting in quar­ters or for mate­rial pro­duc­tion.

Depen­ding on the tech­no­logy, these sto­rage sys­tems can deli­ver rene­wa­ble pro­cess heat up to 1,300 degrees Cel­sius and can be tail­o­red to spe­ci­fic energy needs. Cross-sec­to­ral sto­rage like Power-to-Hea­t/­Power-to-Heat-to-Power pro­vi­des short-term imple­men­ta­ble solu­ti­ons for fle­xi­ble cou­pling of the elec­tri­city and heat sec­tors.

Ther­mal sto­rage sys­tems are available for deploy­ment in both grid-con­nec­ted net­works and mobile heat net­works – for indus­trial pro­cess heat, buil­ding hea­ting needs, or for ther­mal power plants.

Ther­mal sto­rage tech­no­lo­gies are com­mer­ci­ally available and can be rapidly imple­men­ted. Low invest­ment costs and a long ser­vice life make invest­ments in ther­mal energy sto­rage highly attrac­tive from an eco­no­mic stand­point.

One rapidly gro­wing appli­ca­tion area for energy sto­rage in the indus­trial and com­mer­cial sec­tors is sup­port­ing elec­tro­mo­bi­lity. A com­pany-owned PV sys­tem on the roof­top, com­bi­ned with sto­rage and the appro­priate char­ging sta­tion, pro­vi­des a cost-effec­tive and sus­tainable way to sup­ply the elec­tric vehicle fleet with self-gene­ra­ted power around the clock.

Deli­very vehic­les are typi­cally in ope­ra­tion during the day­time. The sto­rage sys­tem ensu­res a time-shifted uti­liza­tion of the PV-gene­ra­ted power pro­du­ced throug­hout the day. This enables over­night char­ging and rea­di­ness for ope­ra­tion the next mor­ning. Fur­ther­more, elec­tric vehic­les them­sel­ves can also func­tion as energy sto­rage. For ins­tance, if a com­pany has high energy demand, the stored energy from elec­tric vehic­les can be uti­li­zed to avoid shorta­ges, pro­vi­ding addi­tio­nal fle­xi­bi­lity to the energy sup­ply.

In fast or simul­ta­neous char­ging of elec­tric vehic­les, sto­rage sys­tems offer ano­ther advan­tage by acting as power sup­pli­ers. Often, the power grid has limi­ted capa­city, lea­ding to lon­ger char­ging times, espe­ci­ally when nee­ding to sup­ply a lar­ger num­ber of vehic­les simul­ta­neously. Howe­ver, with a sto­rage sys­tem as a buf­fer, high char­ging power can be gua­ran­teed, and char­ging times can be opti­mally adjus­ted to ope­ra­tio­nal requi­re­ments.

Energy sto­rage is the key to a sus­tainable, secure, and cost-effec­tive energy sup­ply for elec­tri­city, heat, and mobi­lity – in both indus­trial and com­mer­cial sec­tors as well as house­holds. Dif­fe­rent working groups within BVES are dedi­ca­ted to various appli­ca­tion areas and use cases (e.g., AG Ther­mal Sto­rage, AG Large Bat­te­ries), addres­sing tech­ni­cal and regu­la­tory requi­re­ments. Addi­tio­nally, BVES aims to reduce the infor­ma­tion defi­cit regar­ding indus­trial sto­rage appli­ca­ti­ons and tech­no­lo­gies.

BVES also works on stream­li­ning leng­thy plan­ning and appr­oval pro­ces­ses and ensu­ring non-dis­cri­mi­na­tory inte­gra­tion of new energy sto­rage tech­no­lo­gies into sup­port pro­grams, such as those for the heat tran­si­tion.

In col­la­bo­ra­tion with BVES’s legal and policy depart­ments, the appro­priate legal inte­gra­tion of sto­rage tech­no­lo­gies and appli­ca­ti­ons into sec­tor cou­pling is a focal point.