Software-Defined Power Plants Using Hydrogen Energy Storage

AutoGrid Systems and Electro Power Systems (EPS) announced that EPS has selected AutoGrid's Predictive Controls™ technology to build and operate Software-Defined Power Plants™ with their energy storage systems. AutoGrid's unique and patented Predictive Controls™ technology provides EPS customers with the ability to forecast, optimize and control a portfolio of energy storage systems, along with other distributed energy resources such as Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plants, solar power systems and demand response resources, in real-time and at scale.

These software capabilities enable EPS customers to create Software-Defined Power Plants that aggregate storage and other distributed energy resources into a single flexible dispatch-grade resource, which they can use to reduce their demand charges, to participate in utility demand response programs or to trade directly in electricity markets.

“Customers around the world are using EPS’s proven and cost-effective hydrogen storage systems to help solve their energy challenges,” said Dr. Amit Narayan, CEO of AutoGrid. “AutoGrid enables these customers to manage and optimize both these energy storage systems and other flexible energy resources — enabling them to earn a significantly higher return on their energy storage and other energy assets.”

“AutoGrid’s software will accelerate the deployment of storage technology into the grid,” said Carlalberto Guglielminotti, CEO of Electro Power Systems, “By enabling our customers to use their energy storage systems to reduce demand charges and participate in utility grid flexibility programs and electricity markets, AutoGrid’s Software-Defined Power Plant significantly increases the value of our energy storage systems.”

In comparison with the most advanced batteries on the market, EPS energy storage systems offer a 50 percent smaller footprint, a higher energy storage density and the lowest marginal cost of energy stored at $50 per kWh. Close to 600 EPS energy storage systems have been installed in Italy, China, Norway, India, South Africa and 13 other countries around the world. The systems’ cost, size and performance make them an ideal solution for commercial and industrial customers who are looking to deploy energy storage in their facilities to reduce peak demand charges as well as to create additional revenue opportunities by providing grid support services to utilities and wholesale energy markets.

Energy storage systems using AutoGrid’s Software-Defined Power Plant can significantly lower demand charges, which represent a significant share of the total energy spending of commercial and industrial customers. For example, demand charges for commercial customers in California can be as high as 70 percent of their total electricity bill. Even with PV generation on site, solar production, due to both its variability, is not always available to meet peak demand and address these charges.

In addition, Software-Defined Power Plants address many of the key challenges related to using energy storage to manage demand charges and maximize grid services revenues: Demand charges are driven by a few, short-duration peaks in building load that are difficult to predict. This is particularly true when building load is highly variable, both temporally (seasonal, daily, hourly) and across a customer base with diverse demand patterns. Further, accurate building forecasts require capturing and predicting the interaction between building loads and solar output. Through accurate forecasting, Software-Defined Power Plants are able to capture the actual peaks and avoid unnecessary discharge cycles, thereby extending the life and value of storage systems.

Without proper coordination between demand and storage, the storage system may end up being oversized and may not provide an adequate return on investment (ROI) for the project to be viable, or might be undersized and may not be able to capture the actual peaks at the facility. AutoGrid’s Predictive Controls™ technology allows customers to predict how their storage system will actually be used, allowing them to ensure the system is correctly sized for the building’s demand. In addition, by co-optimizing all sources of flexibility within a building, including demand response and storage, Software-Defined Power Plants create more value for the customer.

Using a Software-Defined Power Plant, storage capacity across many facilities can be pooled to take advantage of the “portfolio effect” and address the variability associated with weather and building loads, allowing customers to maximize revenues from utility grid services and wholesale energy markets.