Enel to deploy three massive energy storage projects in Europe
Global energy services company Enel X has secured a green light from the European Commission to deploy three innovative battery storage projects.
The projects are within the framework of the second Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI), created to support the European battery industry.
Some 42 European companies are participating in the IPCEI initiative.
The three projects will be applied in the fields of electric mobility, large stationary storage systems and the sustainable end-of-life management of lithium batteries.
Energy storage, grid reliability and electric mobility
The first battery storage project is focused on electric mobility and involves funding for the industrial research and experimental development of high-power charging infrastructure integrated with energy storage systems.
The project aims to develop ultra-fast charging solutions to shorten EV charging times while appropriately managing the balancing requirements of the medium-voltage electricity grid.
The project will also focus on vehicle to grid technologies and the integration of electric vehicles into the grid to support greater penetration of renewables and decarbonisation of the transport sector.
The project will also aim to minimise the installation time of charging infrastructure.
Furthermore, the use of second-life batteries at certain pilot sites will make it possible to develop an architecture that is not only innovative but also fully sustainable and in line with the principles of circular economy.
Energy storage optimisation
Enel X will develop an optimisation software for industrial-size storage systems and machine-learning models for the use of second-life batteries.
The software developed will make it possible to optimise the sizing of plants and the operation of the batteries concerned, maximising the use of energy from renewable sources and the application of the principles of circular economy.
Enel X will develop and test industrial solutions relating to logistics, transportation and storage, automation of disassembly processes, and recycling of batteries when electric vehicles and large storage systems for stationary use reach the end of their useful lives.
Batteries form EVs and large scale energy storage plants are estimated to amount to some 60,000 tons/year of waste by 2030 in Italy alone.
Francesco Venturini, CEO of Enel X, said: “In addition to making an important contribution to the decarbonization of consumption, electric mobility represents an opportunity to develop the Italian industry for the production, development and reuse of batteries.
“Through the technologies developed by Enel X, the projects presented under the second IPCEI represent our contribution to improving the sustainability and efficiency of storage systems and their integration into the power grid, encouraging a circular economy model that is in keeping with the aims of the Green Deal. Enel X was one of the first companies to focus on the enormous potential that the growth in the use of storage systems, combining technology, environmental sustainability and efficiency, represents.”
Source: powerengineeringint
