"Battery storage can make an important contribution to connecting renewable energy systems," says the company.

The results are based on the E.ON project carried out between May 1, 2019 and October 22, 2022.

Integrating a large number of renewable energy producers into electricity distribution networks brings challenges for network operators on several levels. This is due to the fact that power generation is becoming more and more volatile, and strengthening the grid to cope with this takes time.

"Achieving the Paris climate goals is an important step on our way 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 the existing distribution infrastructure, innovative and digital solutions such as IElectrix are necessary elements for efficient network expansion," says Mark Ritzmann, managing director at E.ON Group Innovation.

As part of the IElectrix project, E.ON investigated the contribution that battery-based storage systems can make to meet the challenges of the energy transition in countries such as Hungary and Germany.

BESS can more easily overcome technical obstacles that may arise in electricity grids when renewable capacity is connected. They can absorb voltage peaks so that photovoltaic parks, for example, can be connected to the grid quickly, compared to the very long time required to achieve grid expansion.

Also, mobile battery storage systems allow locally generated energy to be used more efficiently directly on site. This is a basic prerequisite for the emergence of so-called energy communities, such as "Adeje Verde" in Tenerife, Spain.

Another result of the project shows that it has been demonstrated that these energy communities encourage the involvement of local people in the energy transition. Through them, households, businesses or municipalities can jointly consume, store and/or sell locally generated renewable energy. BESS enables better coordination for a more equitable distribution of network capacity.

The results obtained within the IElectrix project are integrated into the subsequent activities aimed at energy storage, flexibility and local energy communities. Concretely, findings on the influence of BESS on voltage, network expansion and regulatory environment, as well as studies on energy communities and market flexibility, are important for the further initiation of projects in several European countries. The storage systems used at the Friedland site in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and at Zánka and Dúzs in Hungary will remain in operation.

IElectrix was part of Horizon 2020, the EU's largest research and innovation programme. Over the course of three and a half years, 15 project partners from eight EU countries and distribution network operator TATA Power DDL of India jointly developed mobile storage systems as a fast and cost-effective solution to local grid challenges. IElectrix was financed by the European Union with € 7.9 million, the total value of the project being € 10.7 million. The leader of the consortium is the French distribution system operator ENEDIS. The E.ON Group was responsible for the technical management.