Published: 19 Jul 2021, 14:13
The Kemsley, Kent battery is one of two which was developed as part of the partnership between Pivot Power and Wärtsilä. Image: Pivot Power
Pivot Power is to develop 100MW/200MWh of battery storage split across two sites in the West Midlands in partnership with Wärtsilä.
The first of these storage projects is to be located to the north east of Coventry, while the second is to be in Sandwell. Construction is due to commence at Sandwell in Q4 2021 and at Coventry in Q1 2022.
Wärtsilä will supply the battery technology – which will be underpinned by its GEMS Digital Energy Platform – for both sites. The platform dynamically optimises energy systems through a range of applications, providing feedback to stakeholders across asset owners, operations and trading value chains.
The partnership builds on the companies’ first two projects together in Oxford and Kent, with Pivot having placed the order with Wärtsilä in 2019 before announcing the contract in 2020.
The 50MW Oxford battery – which is part of the world’s largest hybrid battery, combining lithium-ion and vanadium redox flow systems – was activated in June this year, with Pivot claiming it to be the UK’s first grid-scale battery storage system directly connected to the transmission network. It forms part of the £41 million government-backed Energy Superhub Oxford project, which is aiming to integrate energy storage, EV charging, low carbon heating and smart energy management technologies to help decarbonise Oxford by 2040.
Both the two new battery energy storage systems now announced form part of Pivot’s Energy Superhubs. At both sites the battery energy storage systems will share their connection to the high-voltage electricity transmission network with a high-volume power connection, delivering large amounts of power for rapid EV charging to strategic locations in the local area such as public charging hubs, bus depots and commercial fleets.
Andy Tang, vice president, energy storage & optimisation, Wärtsilä, said: “The UK recently set a bold ambition to slash carbon emissions by 78% by 2035 and flexibility is the key to achieving 100% renewables and decarbonising the economy. Our energy storage systems are helping leading innovators like Pivot Power turn these ambitions into reality.”