by Storengy Deutschland GmbH, in collaboration with ENGIE Laborelec
Storengy Deutschland: EU’s small-scale Innovation Fund preparing grant for innovative energy solution project at German gas storage facility
Berlin, 29 July 2021. Storengy Deutschland GmbH, in collaboration with ENGIE Laborelec, has been selected for the European Union’s Innovation Fund programme for small-scale projects for its innovative renewable energy solution. The Aquilon project is an integrated solution that combines wind energy, solar energy and redox flow battery storage at the Peckensen natural gas storage facility (Saxony-Anhalt, Germany).
Innovative solution
The idea behind the project is as follows: instead of using conventional wind turbines, energy is generated using an efficient, innovative and safe kite, also called Airborne Wind Energy (AWE). This will enable the storage facility’s electricity needs to be partially met by renewable energy in future.
“A kite can harness the wind at much higher altitudes than a conventional turbine. In the higher layers of the air, the wind force tends to be stronger and more constant, meaning that more renewable electricity can be generated,” says Christophe Merlo, Business Development Manager and Project Lead at Storengy Deutschland.
This integrated solution combines renewable energy generation (wind and solar) with a redox flow battery storage system. This therefore generates a flat and even energy profile to operate the natural gas storage system with the help of an intelligent management system.
An important contribution to climate neutrality
Aquilon can avoid 100 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional technologies and thus makes an important contribution to climate neutrality. Thanks to this solution, 1 GWh of electricity will be produced at the storage facility. This could supply 250 households with electricity for a year. AWE turbines also require only a fraction of the material of conventional wind energy systems. This reduces investment costs and has a positive impact on environmental compatibility.
“Thanks to their less complex installation and maintenance, they can be used almost anywhere, they have little impact on nature and are more efficient. Compared with conventional wind turbines measuring up to 200 metres in height, the kites can be easily maintained on the ground,” confirms Christophe Merlo.
Next steps
The European Union is investing €118 million into 32 small innovative projects located in 14 EU Member States, Iceland and Norway to decarbonize the economy. The grants will support projects aiming to bring low-carbon technologies to the market in energy intensive industries, hydrogen, energy storage and renewable energy. Successful projects under the call for small-scale projects are starting to prepare individual grant agreements. These should be finalised in the fourth quarter of 2021, allowing the European Commission to adopt the corresponding grant award decision and start disbursing the grants. Projects have up to four years to reach financial closure.
About Storengy
Storengy Deutschland is one of the largest natural gas storage companies in Germany. It is a subsidiary of Storengy SAS, which bundles the ENGIE group’s global gas storage activities. Storengy is the market leader for storage services in Europe. The company’s core business includes the planning, construction and operation of storage facilities and the marketing of gas storage capacities. Storengy Deutschland GmbH operates six gas storage facilities across Germany and markets their gas storage capacity. Storengy Deutschland Betrieb GmbH, a 100% subsidiary of Storengy Deutschland GmbH, implements the technical operation of the gas storage facilities and also provides services (operation and maintenance) for third-party facilities. A central control room in Hanover ensures the remote operation of technical facilities. The company’s headquarters are based in Berlin. As an innovative partner for the zero carbon transition, Storengy provides its expertise to numerous partners worldwide to develop geothermal projects (heat and power production) as well as energy storage and power-to-X solutions.
About ENGIE Laborelec
ENGIE Laborelec is a leading expertise and research centre in electrical power technology. Drawing on the skills of 280 highly specialized engineers and technicians, the company is active on the whole electricity value chain and backs a large set of customers in the fields of generation, transmission, distribution, storage and final use, with a particular focus upon the energy transition and the 3 D’s – decentralisation, decarbonisation and digitalisation.
