HOPPECKE supplies high-performance battery for RWE pilot plant

22.10.2018
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HOPPECKE supplies high-performance battery for RWE pilot plant - Monday, 22.10.2018

The new generation of an uninterruptible power system (UPS) with a storage capacity that can be marketed on the public power grid will be put into operation at RWE in early 2019. HOPPECKE is providing the high-performance batteries for this pilot plant with 2 x 200 kW of power and 2 x 192 kWh rated battery capacity.

At present each data centre is equipped with UPS batteries to provide power in the event of grid failure.  Power cuts are relatively rare in this country, which is why these UPS batteries are hardly ever needed. Not only is this economically inefficient, but the system's reliability is also compromised, since battery function is only checked sporadically.

RWE Supply & Trading, in partnership with Riello Power Systems, developed the new UPS battery system Master+. "We combined our expertise to create an innovative and sound UPS solution," commented a delighted Hans-Günter Schwarz. He is responsible for new business ideas at RWE Supply & Trading and helped to see this product through to the market introduction stage. "Our use of the Master+ UPS system allows us to reduce our operating costs, while simultaneously increasing our security of supply."

Monitoring system enables continuous battery checks


When RWE sells the batteries' storage capacity on the regular power supply market, the battery will be in constant use and monitored continuously. The battery capacity is used, for instance, to mitigate fluctuations in power from renewable energy injected into the grid. The guaranteed load benefits from two supply feeds with redundant input power. Each supply feed is safeguarded by its own Master+ system at 200 kW of power. A HOPPECKE high-performance battery with a rated capacity of 192 kWh is installed in each system.

"Our monitoring system provides continuous battery checks," emphasised Rolf Werkmeister, sales manager at HOPPECKE. "This means that any battery failure can be identified at an early stage and countermeasures implemented."

As well as fulfilling the original UPS function, the pilot plant can provide a range of network services. It is located in one of RWE's office blocks in Essen, and therefore its functionality can be subjected to extensive tests under real conditions. The company is planning to launch its Master+ system early next year. Together with Riello Power Systems, HOPPECKE Batterien and MTU Onsite Energy, RWE is organising customer forums during the months of October and November, where data-centre operators and designers can glean detailed information about products such as Master+.