E.ON’s IElectrix project demonstrates benefits of battery-based energy storage systems for renewable energy integration

IElectrix: Battery storage | Copyright: E.ON

(IN BRIEF) E.ON’s IElectrix project has demonstrated that mobile battery-based energy storage systems (BESS) can help to overcome technical hurdles in connecting renewable energy plants to power grids, as well as more efficiently use green energy produced in wind or solar farms. The project investigated the benefits of BESS in increasing grid flexibility, avoiding network bottlenecks and promoting the participation of local people in the energy transition. The results from IElectrix will inform E.ON’s future activities on energy storage, flexibility, and local energy communities across Europe. The project was funded by the European Union and involved 15 project partners from eight EU countries and India.

(PRESS RELEASE) ESSEN, 23-Feb-2023 — /EuropaWire/ —  E.ON (ETR: EOAN), one of Europe’s largest operators of energy networks and energy infrastructure, announces that its IElectrix project has demonstrated the potential of mobile battery-based energy storage systems to enhance the integration of renewable energy plants into electricity distribution grids. According to the project findings, these systems can efficiently use green energy produced by wind or solar farms and prevent network bottlenecks, enabling grid operators to avoid shutting down decentralized generation plants. BESS can help overcome technical challenges in connecting renewable capacity, such as absorbing voltage peaks, allowing photovoltaic parks to be connected to the grid in a shorter timeframe than before.

IElectrix investigated the contribution of battery-based storage systems to the energy transition challenges in Hungary and Germany. Mobile battery storage systems can make locally generated energy more efficient, which is essential for the development of energy communities, such as Adeje Verde on Tenerife, where households, businesses, or municipalities can jointly consume, store, and/or sell renewable energy.

The IElectrix results are being used to develop follow-up activities at E.ON focusing on energy storage, flexibility, and local energy communities. The findings on the influence of BESS on grid voltage, expansion, regulatory environments, and customer studies on energy communities and flexibility markets are valuable for starting follow-up projects in several European countries. The storage systems used at the Friedland site in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and the Zánka and Dúzs sites in Hungary will remain in operation.

Mark Ritzmann, Managing Director at E.ON Group Innovation, says: “Meeting the Paris climate targets is an important milestone on our path to a sustainable energy future. Tomorrow’s energy world will be characterized by flexible consumers and producers of green energy. To effectively integrate these prosumers into our existing distribution grid infrastructure, innovative and digital solutions like IElectrix are necessary complements to an efficient grid expansion.”

IElectrix was part of Horizon 2020, the EU’s largest research and innovation program, and was funded by the European Union with €7.9 million. The project brought together 15 partners from eight EU countries and the distribution grid operator TATA Power DDL from India. They jointly developed mobile storage systems as a fast and cost-effective solution to local challenges in the distribution grid. The consortium leader is the French distribution system operator ENEDIS, and E.ON was responsible for technical management.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by E.ON Group Management and other information currently available to E.ON. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. E.ON SE does not intend, and does not assume any liability whatsoever, to update these forward-looking statements or to align them to future events or developments.

Media contact:

Teresa Marie Jäschke
Spokeswoman
teresa.jaeschke@eon.com
tel:+49 151 51030303

SOURCE: E.ON SE