Energy company E.ON and technology provider Vertiv are combining their know-how in the field of energy solutions for critical infrastructures. This gives customers from trade and industry the opportunity to modernise their energy infrastructure in such a way that they can generate additional revenues on the energy market in addition to securing self-sufficiency. The solution, which is based on battery systems, will be offered on the German market as a first step.
In concrete terms, batteries ensure uninterruptible power supply in critical areas such as data centres, communication networks or industrial processes. With the E.ON and Vertiv concept, the battery not only functions as a back-up, but can also feed electricity in the other direction, i.e. into the public power grid, in times of low consumption or high own generation. The company then participates in the balancing energy market, capitalises on flexibility there, opens up a new source of income and stabilises the electricity grid at the same time.
Vertiv develops and installs the technical infrastructure for this complex solution, while E.ON is the interface to the energy market. The battery system will become part of E.ON’s virtual power plant. The energy company aggregates the various producers and consumers and markets them. Commercial and industrial customers thus receive a guaranteed profit.
Lead-acid batteries are often used in critical energy infrastructures today. In the course of modernisation, the partners recommend the use of lithium batteries. They are smaller, lighter and have a larger number of charge-discharge cycles. In addition to a longer service life, lithium batteries also achieve a higher energy density and operate in a wider temperature range. Lithium batteries are therefore ideally suited for use in the energy market.
Bernd Schumacher, CEO of E.ON Connecting Energies, commented: “Our energy world is becoming increasingly decentralised. With the joint offer from E.ON and Vertiv, we are preparing our customers for this change. Your plants make a contribution to the energy transition, from which they even benefit. This economic and equally sustainable approach is a win-win situation.”
Reinhard Purzer, managing director of Vertiv in Germany, said: “Many of our UPS customers will certainly like to hear that they can now use their battery-based UPS systems profitably beyond their actual purpose. Our partnership with E.ON enables us to offer our customers this opportunity in a simple manner. In return, customers of E.ON who do not yet own a UPS system suitable for participation in the balancing energy market can conveniently use our joint offer.”
