First V-Storage energy storage system

The Netherlands’ first energy storage system is located on the grounds of VDL ETG in Eindhoven.

Extensive testing of the energy storage system was conducted during the first months of this year. Operational control of the battery has since been transferred to Scholt Energy Control, which is responsible for the energy trading and system monitoring. 

From now on, the battery will assist in maintaining the balance in the Netherlands’ high voltage grid. After all, the strong growth of renewable energy is making the availability of electricity ever more unpredictable. Fluctuations in production, particularly of wind and solar energy, are making it difficult to maintain balance on the net. Batteries will therefore begin to play an important role. When lots of electricity is available from renewable energy sources, the electricity can be stored in the battery. During periods of peak demand for electricity, additional energy – referred to as ‘balancing energy’ – will then be directly available from the battery. A strategy of storing surpluses of renewable energy in batteries can eliminate the need for costly expansion of the Netherlands’ power grid. 

By making the storage capacity of the battery available to the national electricity network, traditional, polluting power stations – which boost their output when demand for power rises – will eventually become redundant. In this way the batteries also contribute to increasing the sustainability of the energy we consume.

Future

VDL Groep and Scholt Energy Control expect to quickly expand the number of batteries and their applications. Over the next few years electric transport is set to really take off in Netherlands. In the Netherlands, for example, all public transport buses must be powered by electricity in 2020. This year there are already 140 VDL electric buses in service in the Netherlands. When the batteries are no longer suitable for electric transport, they can be given a second life in the V-Storage energy storage system.

Scholt Energy Control

Scholt Energy Control (SEC) is active as a supplier of electricity and gas to the business market in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. The company headquarters are located in Valkenswaard (NL). They also have offices in Nazareth (BE) and Ratingen (DE). With their personal, clear, independent approach, SEC have rapidly established a position for themselves in the international energy market. SEC has a strong position in the sustainable electricity market (wind, sun and biomass). With Scholt Energy Services, SEC focuses on innovations in the sustainable energy market.