Consultant 3E: Digital twin key to maximizing battery energy storage performance

The consultancy says accurate modelling of battery energy storage systems (BESS) is required at business and technical level to minimize risk and maximize return on investment.
Battery energy storage system
A Fluence Gridstack grid-scale energy storage system in Israel. | Image: Fluence

The business case for BESS depends heavily on policy and investor appetite. Brussels-based consultancy 3E, says two key elements are vital to understanding BESS revenue potential: firstly, thorough, granular analysis of market prices; and, secondly, the development of a digital twin of the battery.

In the energy storage space, software is as important as hardware. Achieving optimal performance, efficiency, cost reduction, and increased reliability requires the alignment of data and methodologies throughout a storage system’s entire lifecycle, from design to operation. Any inconsistency between the design and operation of a battery system can have detrimental effects on project profitability, for example by compromising safety, shortening project lifespan, increasing maintenance costs, or reducing overall efficiency.

3E, which was spun out of Belgian research institute the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre, shared its “Optimising hybrid projects with Digital Twin technology – A blueprint for risk minimisation” report with pv magazine. The document addresses the importance of accurate modelling at business and technical level, to minimize risk and maximize return on investment. The report found that applying a digital twin approach ensures continuity of modelling can be guaranteed throughout an asset lifecycle, up to operational and even transaction phase. That increases development efficiency and also provides business plan transparency during the operational phase.

The techno-economic digital twin proposed by 3E includes a technical performance algorithm that helps understand BESS behavior, and an economic dispatch algorithm that returns a storage design that maximizes profit by deciding which synergistic markets to participate in at any given time while calculating the effects of degradation, thus minimizing operational cost and taking into account regulatory regimes. The digital twin establishes the system design criteria and the requirements imposed by strict warranty conditions to reduce project risk.

The digital twin is designed to maximize BESS revenue by solving a “spillover optimization” problem. It determines optimal BESS performance at each time period, taking into account price forecasts from multiple markets, market technical requirements, battery characteristics, local grid constraints etc. The main objective is to optimize revenue streams by taking into account competition for limited power and energy capacity among different electric utilities.

The Belgian consultancy added, co-locating BESS with renewable assets presents additional opportunities. It can simplify permitting, when grid connections are shared, and allows for optimized dispatch of renewable energy, reducing the impact of challenges such as the “duck curve” – which occurs when maximum solar energy production is produced at times of lowest grid demand – and related low daytime prices. BESS can also take advantage of the energy discharged, charging it for free to avoid curtailment of excess loads.

3E said it is important to carefully consider charge rate assumptions with a safety margin during the design phase of BESS, as well as continuously monitoring and adjusting charge rate based on real-time conditions throughout an asset’s life. The consultancy added, battery capacity degradation is an unavoidable reality and it is important to consider the two main modes of degradation: cyclic and calendar aging.

“A digital twin can provide real-time insights into warranty tracking, safety analysis, and life predictions by monitoring voltage, temperature, state of charge, charge and discharge times, and other critical data, providing insights into system health that can ultimately increase system performance,” concluded the 3E report.

From pv magazine España.

Written by

  • Pilar worked as managing editor for an international solar magazine, in addition to editing books, primarily in the fields of literature and art. She joined pv magazine in May 2017, where she manages the Spanish newsletter and website and helps write and edit articles for the daily news section in Latin America.

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