Already today, in response to the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, many aspects of global society are depending on increased electrification. Leading the way in this trend is the increase in electric transportation, from mass transit buses to private cars and commercial trucks. These electric vehicles (EVs) are powered by lithium-ion batteries.
Batteries are needed as reserve power for renewable energy production
As an energy company, we have a long history in using batteries in our own operations. One example of this is reserve power for renewable energy production. Electricity production forms that are condition-dependent, such as wind and solar energy, will require more flexibility from the electricity grid in the future.
Today the Nordic electricity market is kept in balance mainly with hydropower, which can provide balancing flexibility at different time periods, from a few seconds to several months. However, quick balancing causes significant wear to the hydropower plant’s turbines. That’s why the use of batteries is expected to become more common in an energy system that is relying more on renewable energy sources, which require increasingly faster balancing.
Electricity storage brings flexible regulating power to the electricity system. Fortum has many of the biggest lithium-ion in the Nordics.
Fortum’s biomass-fired biopower plant in Järvenpää, Finland, and the Forshuvud hydropower plant located on the Dalälven, in Sweden, have large battery systems attached to them. When completed in the beginning of 2020, the Swedish battery system’s output will be 5 MW and the storage capacity 6.2 megawatt-hours. The nominal output of the battery system located in Finland is 2 MW and the energy capacity 1 megawatt-hour.
