Our energy supply has reached a turning point: So far, fossil fuel power plants have always produced just the amount of electricity that was needed at any given time. But how can we reconcile the volatility of wind and solar power generation with the growing electricity demand as we move into the future?
See also: Modernizing and digitalizing power grids solution
In the future, utilities and grid operators will need to know exactly when, where and how much electricity from renewable sources is available, and how much is needed. This can only be achieved with digitalized grids. In the future, smart solutions will help us use or store electricity when the sun is shining or the wind is blowing. To stress the importance of such solutions for a successful energy transition, this year will mark the first time that the EM-Power Award honours companies whose technologies and services substantially contribute to a stable 24/7 energy supply from renewable sources. According to the slogan Empowering Grids and Prosumers, it is about products that facilitate the integration of renewable energies, storage systems, prosumers, e-mobility and power-to-heat into the energy system, so that energy flows can be monitored and controlled at all levels of the grid as well as between grid participants. This includes solutions for grid management and energy monitoring, flexibility options and much more.
Also interesting: Torsten Sieker from Phoenix Contact: „Electric sector coupling on a large scale“
The EM-Power Award ceremony will be held in room 1 of the International Congress Center Messe München (ICM) at 6:00pm on June 13, along with the ceremonies for The smarter E Award, the Intersolar Award, the ees Award and the Power2Drive Award – all under the umbrella of The smarter E Europe, the continent’s largest platform for the energy industry.
The EM-Power Award 2023 finalists
EnExpert (Italy): EnExpert Energy Management System
Knowing the performance profile of individual circuits can help implement energy management solutions with optimal control. This is where EnExpert’s Energy Management System and plug-and-play current sensor come in. The sensor can be connected to the power supply without breaking the circuit, supplying itself with the energy it needs through energy harvesting. It is maintenance-friendly and requires no additional power supply. The energy management gateway automatically establishes a connection via LoRaWAN radio to provide the data for the data-driven operating modes. The system presented by EnExpert enables the efficient, low-maintenance and inexpensive operation of data-based operation optimization using AI.
Entrix (Germany): Optimization and Trading Platform for Grid-scale Batteries
Every new solar or wind farm and the growing demand for electricity redefines the basic rules of the energy system. As the energy system becomes greener and more decentralized it is getting harder to predict and to manage. Thanks to their flexibility, battery storage systems play an important role in stabilizing the power grid, as they can quickly react to frequency fluctuations in the grid. Entrix optimizes the marketing of the flexible capacity of battery storage systems across a systems’ entire life cycle. The AI based algorithms are trained to maximize the system’s lifecycle ROI, taking the project hardware’s characteristics into account. This is how they calculate the ideal combination of revenue streams in each case.
FENECON (Germany): FERESTO – Rental Storage
Battery storage systems help the industry cut expensive peak loads. Planned charging parks that raise the issue of grid expansion or storage, can be flexibly and quickly deployed in combination with a battery storage system. However, many useful applications for large-scale storage systems fail either because the long-term output and capacity for evolving applications cannot be planned, or because the investment and decision structures among industrial companies and grid operators don’t allow it. Frequent obstacles include maintenance and disposal at the end of the storage system’s service life, as well as – especially when it comes to second-life batteries – the battery service life. FERESTO – FENECON Rental Storage enables the efficient utilization of storage systems by offering systems with the appropriate output and capacity configuration to rent for the desired period of time. This also facilitates the widespread use of second-life batteries.
Olmatic (Germany): Olmatic Power Tracking
Olmatic offers an intelligent energy management system for commercial and industrial customers, which optimizes the energy distribution from owner-operated power plants. Using short-term generation and consumption forecasts, peak loads are buffered by the integrated battery storage system and thus prevented. Next to energy management software, Olmatic also provides customer support for the design and construction of photovoltaic installations as well as the sizing of energy storage systems. The company also offers their advice on financing installations. Many renowned customers are already using Olmatic’s solution.
The Mobility House (Germany): ChargePilot – the Smart Charging and Energy Management System
The electrification of passenger cars depends on a charging system that takes into account the available renewable electricity and the local power grid. This is an important task, especially for large parking lots with several EV charging points. The ChargePilot by The Mobility House establishes a communication between each of the EV charging stations in the area, optimizing the entire charging process. This holistic approach minimizes the charging costs for the different purposes and markets. In Germany, this is subject to Section 14a of the German Energy Industry Act (EnWG). Additionally, ChargePilot already supports bidirectional charging (V2X). With ChargePilot, The Mobility House offers a flexible, safe and comprehensive solution for the widespread use of electromobility.
Wattando (Germany): WATTSTER Energy Management for Simple Integration into AC Grids
Wattando’s WATTSTER Box greatly simplifies the connection of a PV system to your home grid. The combination of hardware and energy management software ensures that the grid is not overloaded at any time and that no power is fed into the grid. This enables a safe and compliant feed-in of locally produced electricity beyond current plug-and-play solutions. This solution dramatically simplifies installation and eliminates the costs for an additional metering cabinet.
Xemex (Belgium): LEWIZ (Local Energy WIZard)
The energy transition is complex, very dynamic and difficult to explain to the general public. It requires maximum freedom of choice in terms of devices and choice of manufacturers. LEWIZ by Xemex enables customers to actively and easily manage their power generation and/or consumption. LEWIZ is a modern energy management solution (EMS) for the optimization of energy flows in buildings. It consists of a module that is installed in the apartment or house, and it optimizes the energy distribution between solar cells, batteries, heat pumps, heat storage tanks and wallboxes. Consumers can configure targets to maximize their self-consumption, minimize capacity peaks or use dynamic pricing. LEWIZ communicates via a secure Europe-wide cellular network and permits optional real-time monitoring via LAN. (mfo)
