The Interreg project STorage of Energy and Power Systems (STEPS) is supporting many SMEs to get their innovative energy storage solution market ready. With the business support programme STEPS helps them to develope and optimize their solution and test their product at end-user testbeds. Examples of innovative SMEs in the STEPS programme are Zebra, that is receiving support from the University of Ghent, and AMPTE Power, Brill Power and Starke Energy, who are testing their combined solution at Harwell Campus.
University of Ghent supporting Zebra with their algorithm development
The Dutch company Zebra offers project development services and consultancy for sustainable energy projects and develops innovative smart grid solutions. One of these solutions is a battery algorithm that determines the added value of a battery, for example for a solar park. As part of the STEPS business support programme, University of Ghent supported Zebra to further develop this algorithm.
The University of Ghent and Zebra have created a video that shows what they have been working on. Zebra explains: “The University of Ghent supported us by verifying our algorithm. We were provided with helpful tools to improve our algorithm and with relevant literature that can help us expand the scope of the algorithm.”
Testing an integrated battery storage solution by AMTE Power, Brill Power and Starke Energy at Harwell Campus
Three British SMEs have joined forces and build an innovative energy storage system prototype. The prototype consists of sodium-ion batteries designed by AMTE Power. These batteries are more sustainable than commonly used lithium-ion batteries, according to John Fox of AMPTE Power: “The raw materials used within sodium are more abundant.” He explains that they are also safer: “While lithium-ion batteries are inherently safe, sodium cells are by design safer. They don’t have the same tendency to overcharge.”
These innovative new batteries will be managed by an intelligent battery management system designed by Brill Power. This system monitors the health and performance of the battery cells and adapts the electrical currents accordingly. If one cell fails, it is bypassed, preventing the battery from failing as a whole. The system maximises charge rates and safety and supposedly can increase battery life by 60%.
Software company Starke Energy designs the last piece of the puzzle: an artificial intelligence system that determines how best to distribute the stored energy. Algorithms optimise the storage and release of energy across a network of connected intelligent batteries, to smooth out the peaks and troughs of energy supply and demand that currently limit national grids.
The prototype is built and tested at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, where the SMEs receive support from STEPS partners the Faraday Institution and Cambridge Cleantech. About this opportunity in the STEPS programme, Starke Energy says: “We want to bring this technology one step further, and actually have an impact at the system level.” AMTE Power: “This enables us to test our designed packs in a real-world environment. That is invaluable.”
Want to know more? This article and video explain more about AMTE Power, Brill Power, Starke Energy and the prototype at Harwell Campus.
More about the business support programme
The goal of the STEPS Business Support Programme is to support small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in bringing their energy storage solutions to the market. The programme is divided into two parts. For the first part, 40 innovative SMEs were selected to receive support from leading universities in energy storage.
In the second part of the programme, the top 20 projects receive additional support for testing and demonstrating their energy storage solution. This gives them the opportunity to test their technology at an end-user (testbed) with the support of STEPS business support partners. The SMEs are matched to testbeds in need of an energy storage solution that fits their product.
More information about the STEPS programme can be found on the website. Follow STEPS on LinkedIn and Twitter to keep updated on the programme.
STEPS is a project within the Interreg North-West Europe (NWE) programme. Interreg NWE falls under the European Cohesion Policy and is financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).