There’s a use in used
Renault has been in the car making business for a quite a long time and it has managed to build a good reputation over the years. Aside from just making cars, the company also aims for other ventures to achieve things that have never been achieved by anyone else. Currently, Renault along with some strategic partners have put forward their plan to build an Advanced Battery Storage system. The company believes that this type of energy storage system will be the biggest that Europe has ever seen. The basic idea to build this storage unit is by reusing old batteries from other electric vehicles. It will be a completely modular system and will be spread across multiple places in Germany and France.
The main reason that Renault gives for this idea is so that they may be able to facilitate the use of renewable energy in ways that have never been tried. They also believe that they will be able to stabilize the grid within 50 Hz. The ultimate goal for this project is to install the largest stationary energy storage system in Europe and they plan to do it till 2020.
Renault aims to reuse over 2000 battery packs from a number of electric vehicles to offer a total energy of 60 MWh and power of 70 MW. This is the right amount of energy that is required by 5000 households in a big city. As mentioned before the system will be placed in multiple locations in France and Germany and it will be interconnected. The first hub,however, will be installed in Renault facilities whereas another will be installed in Germany where an old power station will be converted into a new energy powerhouse. The project will then undergo a lot of expansions so that the 60 MWh target may be reached by 2020.
The Advanced Battery Storage system is being built as a distributed energy storage system. The main idea behind it is that it will store excess renewable energy when it is not needed in the grid and then sell it when the grid requires more power.
In this way, the least amount of renewable energy will go to waste and it can be used when there is an actual need.
When it comes to energy generation and distribution, the main problem is maintaining a balance between supply and demand. With this solution that balance might be easier to maintain.
Reusing batteries to generate power
Renault is primarily an automaker but it is not afraid to invest in other projects especially if it makes the world a better place. Global warming is a big problem and unfortunately, there are very few people and organizations that are taking steps to curb the situation. Truth be told, all the countries in the world need to take steps similar to that Renault is taking because generating and storing renewable energy is a great first step. With this technique maintaining the balance between supply and demand might become possible at last.
