Local battery stores combine energy and mobility solutions

In the last four years, VERBUND has installed and put into operation nine local battery stores at high-performance charging locations of SMATRICS EnBW in Austria and Allego in Germany. VERBUND has thus taken the next important step on the way to the energy future in the EC-funded project SYNERG-E and successfully completed the project.

"With SYNERG-E, we have reached a milestone for the coalescence of energy and mobility infrastructure in Europe," says Karl Zach, project leader SYNERG-E, VERBUND Corporate Innovation & New Business, summarising the essence of the trendsetting project. "We are already observing a rapid increase in fast charging and the associated rise in demand for power. This is a trend that will intensify further through to 2030 and beyond. With the growing expansion of renewable energies like wind and PV, the provision of flexibility for the electricity grid will also become increasingly important. With the stationary battery stores of the SYNERG-E project, we are managing to address both problems at once!"

Mobility and grid stability

The main task of the local battery stores is to take the strain off the electricity grid through "peak shaving". When electric cars are charged at high-performance charging locations of up to 350 kW, some of the energy required comes directly from the local battery store. This ensures that the grid is not overloaded and network charges remain reasonable. At times when the charging points are not being used, the battery stores of up to 500 kW / 500 kWh are recharged with 100% renewable electricity from VERBUND and their flexibility used for grid services. 

"During implementation of the innovation project, the teams were regularly confronted with major challenges. The learning curves were extremely steep for everyone," says project leader Zach. "The constantly changing conditions throughout the pandemic challenged us on every front. All the more reason to be successful. With SYNERG-E, we have addressed a completely new issue and gathered valuable experiences, which are helpful in the coupling of mobility and energy infrastructure."

Battery stores in use on the energy market

The flexibilities of all nine battery stores are used on the balancing energy and intraday market in Germany and Austria. The intelligent control ensures that the batteries are charged at the most favourable times of day and marketed on the energy market.

Exploiting synergies, connecting sectors

SYNERG-E addresses the sector coupling of energy and mobility, and was funded by the synergy call of the European Commission's Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). "Following successful completion of the project, the battery stores will continue to provide valuable services in the energy and mobility sector beyond the project's term and thus make an important contribution to the success of the energy transition. The experiences gained from the project have made a significant contribution to the development of products and services with battery stores at VERBUND," adds Karl Potz, head of the Battery Solutions Centre, VERBUND Energy4Business. With more than 70 MW of large battery stores in Germany, VERBUND is positioning itself as a strong partner for German distribution grid operators.