Volkswagen is expanding its activities in the market for large-scale stationary energy storage systems
The German car company Volkswagen is now focusing more on producing and storing energy from renewable sources. In May, they announced that a Power Center installation with a capacity of 700 MWh will be ready in 2025. Recently, they also introduced a new business segment under their Elli brand, which will handle electric vehicle charging and manage large-scale storage systems.
A new chapter in the activities of the Volkswagen Group
The Volkswagen Group is familiar with Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), especially in European charging hubs. These systems use recycled batteries from electric vehicles, which increases the capacity to supply electricity to vehicles during peak hours and reduces reliance on the grid.
Volkswagen now aims to enter the energy storage business on a much larger scale. To achieve this, it has expanded the operations of its Elli brand, which, along with partners, will build and operate large-scale energy storage systems. This move aligns with Volkswagen’s vision of smart energy, aiming to stabilize and increase the efficiency of power grids.
Initially, Volkswagen plans to develop projects with a capacity of up to 350 MW and storage capacity of up to 700 MWh. These projects will be located in Germany, with the first installation set for 2025. This could double Germany’s current total storage capacity, which Volkswagen estimates to be around 1 GWh.
Thomas Schmall, a member of Volkswagen Group’s Board of Management for Technology, stated, “Germany and Europe need sufficient storage solutions to meet growing demand and address the low flexibility of renewable energy production. Our investment in stationary battery storage systems is a significant step towards a sustainable energy supply transformation.”
Energy storage is also great business!
The Volkswagen Group reports indicate that in the upcoming years, there will be a surge in demand for energy storage solutions across Europe, with experts predicting a 100-fold increase in Germany alone. Giovanni Palazzo, the current CEO of Ella, underscores this point, stating, “We recognize significant financial potential in this business sector and view it as an opportunity to evolve Ella into a comprehensive energy provider in Europe.”
In Germany alone, 10,500 GWh of renewable energy generation was halted in 2023 due to the absence of storage systems. An industrial-scale Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) project could address this issue by storing enough energy to fuel over 3.2 million electric vehicles for one year.
Source: volkswagen-group.com