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Giant battery to power Nordhavn

The DONG Energy grid company Radius has signed an agreement with ABB concerning a giant battery for Nordhavn, one of Copenhagen’s newest residential districts.
Nordhavn, one of Copenhagen’s newest residential districts. Photo: By & Havn/Ole Malling

Facts about the battery

Power = 630kW
Energy = 460kWh
Technology = Li-ion
Commissioning = January 2017

 

EnergyLab Nordhavn

Over the next four years the project EnergyLab Nordhavn – New Urban Energy Infrastructures will develop and demonstrate future energy solutions. The project utilizes Copenhagen’s Nordhavn as a full-scale smart city energy lab and demonstrates how electricity and heating, energy-efficient buildings and electric transport can be integrated into an intelligent, flexible and optimized energy system.

The project participants are: DTU, City of Copenhagen, CPH City & Port Development, HOFOR, Radius, ABB, Danfoss, Balslev, CleanCharge, Glen Dimplex, METRO THERM and the PowerLab facilities. The project is supported by EUPD (Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Programme).

 

About ABB:

ABB (www.abb.com) is a leading player in the field of power and automation technologies designed to improve performance in the areas of supply, industry, transport and infrastructure with the least possible impact on the environment. The ABB Group operates in nearly 100 countries, employing approximately 135,000 people worldwide. In Denmark, ABB employs around 500 people.

For the first time in Danish history, giant batteries are to be integrated into the power grid. The trailblazing innovation will be introduced in Nordhavn, the biggest urban development project ever undertaken in Denmark. Radius has recently signed a contract with ABB for the delivery of a Li-ion battery that will be installed in the Lüders parking facility in Nordhavn January 2017. Fully charged, this battery has the capacity to supply around 60 households with electricity for one day.

New growth area

Nordhavn is a new growth area in Copenhagen. On completion, the area will house 40,000 people and provide 40,000 jobs.As such, it will have a population larger than the Danish island of Bornholm.

One of the ambitions behind the project is to create a district in Copenhagen that is sustainable in terms of energy. For example, many of the buildings will generate electricity using solar cells or other forms of renewable energy. Innovation is also evident in the infrastructure and the interaction between electricity, district heating/cooling, and water/wastewater.

The parking house where the giant battery will be stored. Photo: By & Havn/Peter Sørensen

New demands on the power grid

The ambitious green goals and the alternative approach to energy consumption make special demands on the power grid. Using batteries to store energy is likely to play a much larger role than it does today. Radius is preparing for this new step by working with partners in the ‘EnergyLab Nordhavn’ project to test how large batteries can be integrated into the power grid. Energy can be drawn from the battery whenever necessary to reduce the load on the grid. In this way, the grid can be run much more cost-efficiently.

Anders Vikkelsø, Vice President of Radius, says: “Over the coming years, energy production will fluctuate more radically than we're used to, and consumption patterns will change significantly on account of the green transformation. As a grid company, we have an extraordinary opportunity to prepare for the future. By bringing the battery online in the EnergyLab Nordhavn,project, we can learn a great deal about how to design the power grid to meet the needs of the world we are sure to encounter just a few years from now. And we can test how new technological solutions and market mechanisms interact with the grid. We're convinced that batteries will be one of the technological solutions we will need to pay more attention to in the immediate future.”

Jonas M. Kehr, Sales Manager at ABB A/S, says:
“At ABB, we're delighted to have the opportunity to enter into an agreement with Radius concerning this smart city Li-ion battery project. This project neatly aligns with ABB’s strategy of supplying eco-friendly and innovative solutions to the energy sector. The Li-ion battery solution is unique in terms of its central location in an urban environment and its technological design as an integral component in a standard 10kV substation in an urban zone. This marks the start of much more widespread use of battery solutions in the grid. We're convinced at ABB that in future, we'll see many more batteries linked to the grid in connection with solutions involving solar cells, wind turbines, electric cars and buses.”

For additional information, please contact Media Relations

Morten Kidal
+45 9955 9583