Recording of Wednesday, June 19, 2024 | The smarter E Europe 2024 | Conference Program | Language: English | Duration: 13:28 .
The discussion revolves around the rapid scaling of energy storage projects, with a focus on transitioning from smaller capacities (10 megawatts) to much larger ones (600 megawatts). Dr. George Hilton highlights that this scale-up is driven by the need for economic feasibility and investor returns, achievable through standardization and economies of scale. However, there's a cautious approach towards exceeding 300-500 megawatts due to redundancy costs and grid security responsibilities. Investors are more inclined toward larger projects because they promise better discussions and financial returns compared to smaller ones. Alan Greenshields emphasizes that cost drives scale in new technologies but also notes a funding gap between venture capital for innovation and conventional funding for large-scale deployment. This gap needs bridging to ensure promising technologies reach market viability without prolonged timelines. Julia Reig discusses modular solutions like crushed rocks in thermal storage as scalable options limited mainly by installation space and CAPEX. Lars Rupert touches on innovative project financing strategies involving splitting large projects into virtual segments managed via private grids or optimizers looking at revenue maximization across different markets. The overarching theme is achieving balance between technical feasibility, cost efficiency, risk management, and investment attractiveness in rapidly growing energy markets.
Automated summarization by AI Conver
The era of "mega" and "giga" batteries has finally arrived in continental Europe, with hundreds of MW or even GW range-projects being announced on a regular basis. At the same time, durations are also increasing as revenue stacking becomes increasingly important with ancillary services saturating in key markets. Energy storage projects that enable "virtual transmission" are also growing in importance to address grid congestion as more and more renewables come online. Solutions are being sought across the continent for cost control, energy security and increased sustainability. In this session, we will take a closer look at some of the most interesting energy storage projects that reflect key industry trends in Europe, examining their set-up, drivers, economics, challenges and significance for the energy storage sector.
Speaker
Dr. George Hilton
Research Manager
S&P Global
Speaker
Julia Reig
Head of Process Engineering
Brenmiller Europe / Green Enesys
Spain
Speaker
Speaker
Lars Rupert
Founder / CCO
GIGA Storage
The Netherlands
Speaker
Georg Gallmetzer
Managing Director
ECO STOR GmbH
Germany