The demand for new energy solutions

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Tuesday 27 October 2020 08:31 AM

The demand for new energy solutions

Expanding our microgrid portfolio

Global energy demand is set to increase almost 50 percent by 2050* due to global megatrends such as digitalization, urbanization and electrification. In contrast, the EU's climate targets include a CO2 reduction of at least 40 percent by the year 2030. This poses tough challenges for energy suppliers, industries and local authorities who are demanding new solutions to meet changing customer needs.

Decentralized supply solutions are becoming more and more important. They are key to electrical energy supply wherever a public grid is not available or cannot be upgraded quickly enough to meet the growing and changing needs of customers. With MTU Microgrids, we offer a decentralized energy supply solution that makes maximum use of renewable energy sources. In order to provide energy systems from a single source, we are expanding our product portfolio to include the battery storage systems MTU EnergyPack QL, QM, and QS.

* compared to 2018, as predicted by the U.S. Energy Information Administration in its International Energy Outlook 2019.

Solution to the challenge

Microgrids are making a significant contribution to decarbonization. They integrate renewable energies and offer a clean and efficient energy supply. With the integration of Qinous, we have expanded our competence in this field.

These decentralized energy supply systems consist of several components, such as battery storage, photovoltaic or wind power plants, as well as gas or diesel generators, which together can regulate frequency, compensate for peak loads or even increase internal consumption. Together with the intelligent MTU microgrid controller, the system can be optimally controlled and adapted to the customer's needs.

In Germany, electricity bills have become a cost factor for energy-intensive companies due to high and rising electricity prices. A manufacturing company, by installing a microgrid consisting of a PV system, battery storage and a gas generator, can save up to 21 percent in annual operating costs. [Link to the Use Case]. The German automotive supplier Winkelmann took this step as early as 2018 and decoupled itself from the grid with the help of a microgrid solution with MTU gas gensets.

What is a Microgrid?

Microgrids are decentralized energy systems consisting of a combination of renewable energies (e.g. photovoltaic or wind), battery storage and/or conventional energy generation (e.g. diesel or gas) to serve a specific electrical load. A microgrid can be off-grid or grid-connected, and has a central control system to optimize the system.

Use of renewable energies

Regardless of whether on or off-grid, with the help of battery storage systems, a large part of the energy demand can be covered by renewable sources, saving fossil fuels. Due to the increasing use of renewable energies, flexible system modules are required at all grid levels which can respond to the variance in energy production. Battery storage systems are ideally suited for this purpose.

They can provide grid services such as voltage and frequency regulation that were previously provided by conventional power plants. In combination with PV or wind farms, they can compensate for short- and medium-term fluctuations on site and thus turn fluctuating sources into reliable feeders. Particularly in weak grids, where a cloudburst or a gust of wind can endanger stability, storage systems can cushion the dynamics of these natural fluctuations, making the integration of PV and wind on a larger scale possible in the first place.

Competence Center for Microgrid Solutions

Microgrid solutions are a complex area that requires a great deal of expertise on the development of the energy market and components such as battery storage. To this end, Rolls-Royce had acquired a majority stake in the power storage specialist Qinous at the beginning of January 2020. Founded in Berlin in 2013, the company has already implemented over 50 battery storage projects and microgrids worldwide. Since the beginning of June 2020, Qinous has been operating under the name Rolls-Royce Solutions Berlin GmbH and forms the competence center for MTU brand microgrid solutions from Rolls-Royce.