Clean energy stored safely

Sun, wind, and water are clean sources of renewable energy and could satisfy our needs for electricity completely in the future. In contrast to conventional power plants, the produced power heavily depends on weather conditions and is hard to predict. A single cloud over a solar plant can already induce serious irregularities in the power grid.

Researches of the University of Kaiserslautern (TUK) investigate in detail how renewable energy can be integrated safely into existing grids. Battery-based storage units are key components for this task since they can take and release electrical energy in a highly dynamic way. The Chair for Energy Systems and Energy Management (ESEM) with its head Prof. Wolfram Wellßow investigates appropriate strategies for charging and discharging those batteries with succeeding tests in real power grids.

Dipl.-Ing. Martin Pfister has investigated in his diploma thesis how middle-sized battery-based storage units help to stabilize urban grids. For his work he has now been awarded with the prize of the “Kreissparkassen-Stiftung für die Technische Universität Kaiserslautern”. “Mr. Pfister has carried out his thesis with a high dedication and autonomy. The results are particularly relevant for medium-sized business since they show novel approaches for optimizing their own power consumptions and business cases”, says supervisor Dipl.-Wirtsch.-Ing. Stephan Röhrenbeck.

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (EIT) congratulates for this award!