330 GW of installed storage capacity worldwide by 2030 , 95 GW by 2050 in Europe – a recent study of Boston Consulting Group sees an important growth segment in the market for storage systems for the energy sector. The global turnover of the storage market is quantified to more than three billion euro per year within the next five years. As of 2020 the study expects a volume of more than 10 billion euro. “We see an enormous potential for the storage segment especially in Germany”, says Ove Petersen, founder and managing director of the project planning company for power plants GP Joule at the finance meeting of the trade journal BIZZ energy today in Berlin. “Given the expansion of renewable energies, storage technologies increase in importance in order to guarantee supply security and grid stability.”
By means of injection of volatile energies into the power grid the divide between simultaneous production and consumption is growing more and more. Supply gaps on days with little wind and sun are closed by climate-damaging coal power. “Storage systems are a much more climate friendly alternative”, says Ove Petersen. “They do not only store renewable energy and inject it according to the demand back into the grid. They also work as an interface between the power market and various applications in the heating market, for climate friendly mobility, in the gas market or for industrial applications of hydrogen – entirely in line with a real energy turnaround.”
Hydrogen – Impetus for the energy turnaround:
Together with its affiliate H-TEC SYSTEMS GP JOULE has specialized in energy storage by hydrogen electrolysis. The power-to-gas technology makes it possible to transform current into hydrogen by the aid of PEM electrolysis time and thus to store it within the shortest. Currently GP JOULE and H-TEC SYSTEMS are working on the development of the “power gap filler” – a pilot project for a combined power-to-gas-to-power plant.
Compensate load fluctuations with the “power gap filler”:
Electricity generated of renewable energies is converted into hydrogen by the aid of PEM electrolysis and then interim stored. If required, the hydrogen together with biogas from a CHP will be converted into electricity again and fed back into the grid. The total efficiency for electricity and heat use amounts to up to 95%. The system is in a pilot phase at the moment, by the end of 2014 they plan to reach the extension stage. “Current storage technologies are a key to the success of the energy turnaround as they provide a vital contribution to compensate the disparity in time and space between the generation of renewable energy and the consumption. They can provide energy where it is required just in time,” says Petersen.
Hydrogen electrolysis – “less than two cents per kilowatt hour”:
To guarantee the supply with 100% green electricity GP JOULE and H-TEC SYSTEMS have set themselves ambitious aims for the further development of the technology. By 2020 the annual production of stacks of more than 10 megawatt performance shall be achieved – and thus supply electricity for more than 6000 households. “Our aim is to reduce the costs for the conversion of electricity into hydrogen to less than two cents per kilowatt hour”, explains Ove Petersen.
PR contact:
Johanssen + Kretschmer Strategische Kommunikation GmbH
Herr Timo Bovi
Tel.: +49 (0) 30 5200057806
Mobil: +49 (0) 177 8830622
E-Mail: t.bovi(at)gp-joule.de
The company:
Simpy energy – according to this slogan GP JOULE develops, engineers and implements projects for the promising utilization of renewable energies. Co-founders and agricultural engineers, Ove Petersen and Heiner Gärtner together with André Hirsch, diploma in business administration, aim to combine the interests of land use and profitability in order to create exciting and profitable opportunities for investors. Besides the business fields of solar, wind and biomass energy, with their future strategies division they have established a knowledge pool that integrates the know-how of all their specialist departments and allows them to create comprehensive energy solutions. At the same time they are focusing on the research of new technologies. GP JOULE has got four locations in Germany and four international locations in France, Italy, the USA and Canada. The headquarters is in Reußenköge in Northern Germany.
