2021 has proved to be a fruitful year for STEPS. 40 vouchers from the first phase were awarded to SMEs, where the SME’s work together with knowledge partners from the consortium to enhance their product and optimize it for testing. According to Roman Alberti, one of the founders of the German startup Voltfang, the support has already led to valuable results: “The competent advice of the TU Darmstadt staff on the topics of safety concept, CE conformity, risk analysis, system limits, and the corresponding safety guidelines and standards provided us with the decisive input to achieve market readiness and certification of our product. In addition, the scientists of the University of Twente supported us when it came to the topic of electromagnetic compatibility.” Read More
In the framework of STEPS, Aceleron was supported by the Technical University of Darmstadt in Germany as well as Ghent University in Belgium to enhance its energy storage solutions. The support focused on the quantification of the benefits arising from residential battery usage. Aspects like the reduction of the electricity network usage as well as the potential decrease of greenhouse gas emissions were covered. In this context, ways to graphically deliver energy related information to the endusers were analysed. Furthermore, opportunities to interconnect batterysystems exploiting internet of the things technologies were reviewed. Read More
Green Energy Park has opened their first physical realization: an innovative living lab called The Smart Village Lab. It was the Flemish minister of Innovation Hilde Crevits who officially launched the innovative living lab with a touch of the virtual button. The lab is located on a research park close to Brussels and investigates how the future of living can be more smart, sustainable and energy efficient. Read More
The goal of the STEPS project is to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the North-West Europe region (NWE) bring their energy storage products to the market and increase their
competitiveness. STEPS is part of the Interreg NWE programme financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The programme
consists of two phases, the first of which offers product enhancement support from universities across the NWE region to the top 40 applicants.
20 of these SMEs will be supported with a second phase aimed towards development and demonstrating their technology at suitable testbeds.
One of the SMEs supported in the first round of the project is Adaptive Balancing Power. Read More
The goal of the STEPS project (STorage of Energy and Power Systems) is to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the North-West Europe region (NWE) bring their product to the market and increase their competitiveness. One of the SMEs selected in the first round of the project is Voltfang. The start-up company was founded in July 2020 in Aachen by Roman Alberti, Afshin Doostdar and David Oudsandji, recent graduates of RWTH Aachen in the fields of Energy and Industrial Engineering. Together with a team of 10 they develop stationary battery storage systems from re-used Lithium-Ion batteries of electric vehicles for residential, commercial, and industrial customers. We asked Roman Alberti from Voltfang about their company and what the STEPS programme means for their growth. Read More
Are you a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) operating in the energy storage market? Get expert insights with the STEPS NWE State-of-the-Art Report. As part of the EU-funded STEPS project, renowned organisations investigated the current state of medium-capacity energy storage (e-storage) and the e-storage industries based in North-West Europe (NWE). The overview helps SMEs striving to establish their position in the competitive e-storage market by defining the landscape and highlighting its opportunities and trends. With this publication, SMEs can make informed decisions to seize their opportunities and boost their products. Read More
The STEPS Business Support Programme successfully moves forward and shows first results. SMEs selected in March for the programme have received support from knowledge institutions and already progressed their TRL levels. Three SMEs are now ready to progress to the final stage and four further SMEs are already in the final stage to start testing under ‘real-life’-conditions, with partly cross-border testing involved. Meanwhile, 25 new innovative SMEs applied for the Business Support Programme and are now being assessed for enrollment. Read More
An exciting opportunity for energy storage innovators in North-West Europe to develop their technologies opens this month. The STEPS Business Support Programme works with small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and offers support to take their solutions from the test stage to market ready. Operating within North-West Europe (NWE), the free programme gives SMEs the opportunity to optimise their products and develop their technologies with real-life testing. Read More
The STEPS Design for Safety in Battery Systems Symposium addressed the latest and most important battery safety developments around the world. Hosted by the University of Twente, the event stressed that safety is key, especially in battery design. Read More
20 selected applicants will be supported by STEPS in optimizing their innovative energy storage solutions. Led by our partner Oost NL, the project helps SMEs take their energy storage solution from test stage to market ready. Read More
