Innovative and intelligent: RWE builds one of the largest battery storage facilities in Germany

• Facility with capacity of 117 megawatts (MW) being installed at Lingen and Werne power stations
• Coupling with hydropower stations increases capacity by another 15 percent
• Investment of around 50 million euros / Start of operations scheduled for end of 2022

Spread across two locations and coupled with hydropower stations – RWE is building one of the largest and most innovative battery storage systems in Germany. A battery system with a total capacity of 117 megawatts is being installed at the company’s power plants in Lingen (Lower Saxony) and Werne (North Rhine-Westphalia). What is special about this project is that the batteries will be virtually coupled with RWE’s run-of-river power stations along the river Mosel. By raising or decreasing the flow-through at these power stations, RWE can make additional capacity available, also as balancing energy. This coupling process raises the total capacity of the batteries by another good 15 percent. So the battery and the hydropower stations work hand in hand to help keep the frequency in the power grid stable. Around 50 million euros are being invested in this project. The system is scheduled to start operations at the end of 2022.

“Battery storage systems are essential to the success of the energy transition. They help balance out fluctuations in the power grid, which are increasing as the share of renewable energies grows. Our project is setting new standards and shows how we can offer the market even more flexibility by intelligently linking up battery capacity with run-of-river power stations”, explains Roger Miesen, CEO of RWE Generation.

NRW State Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Andreas Pinkwart: “Large battery storage systems in the megawatt category make a key contribution towards network stability in the new energy world. The implementation of this project at a power station with a tradition as long as Werne’s demonstrates impressively how competence and innovative technologies can be used to design the secure energy supply of the future. With its energy storage systems in Werne and Lingen, RWE sets new standards and can become a role model for many other projects around the transformation of our energy system.”

Olaf Lies, Lower Saxony’s State Minister for Environment, Energy, Building and Climate Protection: "The Lingen power plant is a role model for the energy transition. It’s impressive how quickly the transformation from conventional electricity generation to a state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly energy world is progressing. Lingen is where climate protection and the industry come together. This secures jobs and prosperity in the region. And industry follows energy as these investments in the energy infrastructure act as a magnet for other branches of industry to settle in this region. So protecting the climate is so much more than just reducing carbon emissions – it is also leading our region as an industrial location into a new era."

The planned system comprises 420 lithium-ion battery racks, housed in 47 overseas shipping containers spread across two RWE power stations. The system at the Gersteinwerk in Werne will have a capacity of 72 MW while the one at the Emsland station in Lingen will have 45 MW.

The fact that RWE has all the necessary expertise within the company – outstanding battery competency, a deep understanding of the market and many years of experience in operating power stations – formed the basis for developing this innovative solution. The company already operates battery storage systems in the U.S., Germany and Ireland. Other large-scale projects are currently ongoing. At the same time, RWE is working on projects with innovative technologies such as redox-flow storage systems and second-life batteries, i.e. the stationary use of former electric vehicle batteries.