Developing low-cost energy storage systems is a central pillar for a secure, affordable and environmentally friendly energy supply based on renewable energies. A hybrid energy storage system (HESS) can be capable of providing multiple system services (e.g. frequency regulation or renewable balancing) at low cost and without the use of critical resources. Within HyFlow, an optimized HESS is designed consisting of a high-power vanadium redox flow battery (HP-VRFB), a supercapacitor (SC), advanced converter topologies and a highly flexible control system that allows adaptation to a variety of system environments. The system design enables modular long-term energy storage through HP-VRFB, while the SC as a power component ensures high load demands to be handled. The flexible Energy Management System (EMS) will be designed to perform high level of control and adaptability using computational analysis and hardware development. Within HyFlow, this innovative HESS is developed and validated on demonstrator-scale (5 kW scale) including sustainability analysis. The scope is to base the HP-VRFB on recycled vanadium and thereby reduce the environmental impact as well as the costs of the HESS. The consortium will build upon lab-scale and industrial application-scale experimental data to derive models and algorithms for the EMS development and the optimization of existing VRFB and SC components. An industry-scale demonstrator (300 kW scale) provides the possibility to test even the fastest grid-services like virtual inertia. Outputs of the project support the whole value-chain and life cycle of HESS by developing new materials and components and adding them together with an innovative EMS. The development of the above described HESS especially through the flexible EMS allows a plethora usage potentials to be assessed. This will lead to the grid integration of the HESS where the full potential of the flexibility can thoroughly be qualified and optimized for market requirements.

Decarbonisation of the world’s energy system is needed to reduce CO2 emissions, ensure energy security and increase sustainability of the world’s natural resources. Renewable energy generation technologies such as solar PV and wind can be used a low carbon alternative. However, the use of these less predictable intermittent renewable technologies can lead to grid instability. As more renewables are connected to the system in line with EU legislation, this will become a critical problem throughout the EU. Grid scale energy storage technologies which can be used to store excess power for times of low generation can mitigate the problem, ensuring a balanced supply of power and utilisation the maximum renewable energy generation capacity. The project will leverage two existing energy storage pilot sites to demonstrate the performance of a European manufactured adaptive-flywheel on the Irish and UK transmission grids. During the project, Schwungrad Energie, Adaptive Balancing Power, University of Sheffield and Freqcon will develop an adaptive flywheel battery hybrid energy storage system for dynamic grid stabilisation for initial deployment within both test grid systems prior to EU commercialisation. The demonstration of its functionality in both grids increases the technology readiness level (TRL) of the adaptive flywheel battery hybrid energy storage system from TRL 6 to TRL 8, which allows commercial application and is a requirement for scaling up of the technology post project. As of 2020, similar dynamic grid stabilisation measures will be needed in the EU as well as in global grids in the medium term. This project gives the consortium a stable foundation to access the dynamic grid stabilisation market on a global scale. This will increase the revenue of all EU based SME’s involved in the project, allow the creation of IP and give a return on investment based on partner profit and EU project contribution of 1183% by 2025.