EEW Battery Storage at Premnitz Enters Regular Operation

Key Takeaways

• EEW’s battery storage at Premnitz has been in regular operation since 24 August, rated 7 MW with 15 MWh capacity.
• It is Germany’s first battery storage integrated into a thermal waste treatment plant’s energy system.
• The heat-led plant keeps supplying heat while electricity is stored and released later.
• The system can serve spot and intraday markets plus primary and secondary control reserve.
• EEW treats Premnitz as a blueprint and plans further storage at suitable sites.

German plant operator EEW has transferred its first battery storage system into regular operation. The storage facility at the Premnitz site has been in regular use since 24 August, with an output of 7 megawatts (MW) and a storage capacity of 15 megawatt hours (MWh). In fact, it is the first battery storage system in Germany to be integrated into the energy system of a thermal waste treatment plant. Now, Premnitz is intended to serve as a blueprint, with further sites to follow.

“With Premnitz we have shown that the reliable energy generation of our plants can be usefully supplemented by additional flexibility. We intend to pursue this path consistently,” said Timo Poppe, chief executive of EEW. He added that the pilot project is becoming a blueprint for further battery storage systems. Also, the company is ready to implement additional storage projects at suitable EEW sites.

More Flexibility for the Energy Market

The battery storage system in Premnitz adds short-term storage capacity to the heat-led thermal waste treatment plant. While the plant continues to supply the required heat, electricity can be taken up by the battery storage and made available again at a later point. Consequently, short-term fluctuations in electricity generation can be balanced in this way. The feed-in of electricity can be arranged more flexibly.

The storage system can be used across several energy markets. These include the spot and continuous intraday market as well as the provision of primary and secondary control reserve. This additional flexibility is becoming more important as the share of more volatile electricity generation from wind and solar in the energy system grows.

“With regular operation we are completing a project in which we entered new territory in many respects. What matters to us now is using the experience from Premnitz for the next projects,” said Christian Schüttenhelm, project manager at EEW. He said the storage system makes the company’s electricity provision more flexible without compromising on the plant’s actual task: safe waste treatment and reliable heat supply.

From Pilot Project to Blueprint

Premnitz was designed from the outset as a pilot project for further storage solutions within the EEW group. The experience gained from planning, construction and operation is now to feed into further projects. Importantly, EEW is assessing on a site-specific basis where battery storage systems and other flexibility solutions can be used in technically and economically viable ways. Concrete plans already exist for further battery storage systems at suitable sites.

Read More

• EEW’s Battery Storage Project in Premnitz: A Game Changer
• Waste-to-Energy Plant Premnitz: Key Data & Insights
• Transforming Energy Supply: Battery Storage at EEW Premnitz
• EEW Starts Pre-Sorting Plant Trial in Delfzijl
• New 85 MW Battery Storage For Bremen’s Port