Haid-Power – Planning and Implementation of an Innovative Energy Concept for a Development and Test Center for Batteries and Energy Storage Systems in a Distribution Grid for Industry and Electromobility

An upsurge in electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles is driving the electrification of the transportation sector and this requires a significant transformation of the electricity sector. Along with the growth of variable renewable energies, this represents another challenge for the power grid and utilities in Germany. This type of sector coupling will lead to significant changes, particularly in distribution grid loads. The Haid-Power project is focused on establishing solutions for these challenges, which will be tested in practice at Fraunhofer ISE’s new development and testing center for batteries and energy storage systems.

The development and testing center in Freiburg will be equipped with a load and energy management system in combination with a large photovoltaic installation and a modular hybrid battery-based storage unit. This should help avoid costly expansion of the existing distribution grid structure, while intelligent peak shaving and a building integrated photovoltaic system will keep the center in operation. The demonstration and exploration of such an exemplary application at the level of the distribution grid will make a substantial contribution to the success of the transportation transition.

The primary goals of this project can be summarized as follows:

• Development and implementation of an innovative power supply system for the development and testing center for batteries and energy storage systems at the Haidhaus technology park. This will serve as a flagship project for pioneering battery storage-supported solutions for commercial and industrial use, including charging infrastructure for electric vehicles
• Establishment of a living lab for battery-based storage units and energy management systems as a platform for qualifying components and complete system solutions under real operating conditions
• Qualification and development of an open energy management platform for commercial and industrial battery-based storage applications, including necessary application-specific adjustments and expansions such as integrated demand-side management via load scheduling
• Development and validation of methods for evaluating PV battery storage-based system concepts for the optimization of costs for distribution grid operation and expansion. These methods aim to enable a simple comparison of such power supply concepts with the reinforcement of grid connections and/or grid expansion in distribution grids which primarily serve industrial purposes, as well known as Distribution Upgrade Deferral / Capex Deferral investigations.

As part of their participation in this project, Fraunhofer EMI and Fraunhofer ISE will have the opportunity to use real operating conditions to test and demonstrate that solutions can be found to meet the greatest challenges in charging infrastructure expansion within distribution grids for e-mobility and that these solutions can be implemented cost-effectively. The software tools and energy management systems that will be developed as part of this project will aid in the investigation of relevant R&D questions and will be able to offer support in designing pioneering energy supply systems for commercial applications both with and without charging infrastructure.