January 20, 2023: Iron-based flow battery storage company ESS said on January 19 it had landed a deal to supply its long-duration storage system for a pilot scheme at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport.
The company’s Energy Warehouse BESS will be deployed in the first quarter of this year.
For the pilot project, the BESS will be used to recharge electric ground power units (E-GPU) — which will replace the diesel ground power units currently used to supply electrical power to aircraft when parked, ESS said.
Oscar Maan, Royal Schiphol Group manager of innovation, said: “If this pilot is successful, this is a double win as it both reduces our carbon footprint and reduces air pollution.”
The project is part of the Royal Schiphol-led ‘Tulips’ consortium, funded by the EU, to speed up the rollout of sustainable technologies in aviation.
ESS announced last March that it was expanding its European operations — to meet expected demand for long-duration storage as the continent attempts to scale back its dependency on Russian gas.
ESS said the Russia-Ukraine conflict was accelerating Europe’s ramping up of renewable power and gave new impetus for investments in long-duration energy storage as countries sought ways to reduce use of gas-powered generation of electricity.
According to ESS, the European region is to require up to 20TWh of long-duration energy storage capacity if it is to meet UN climate change goals of ‘grid net zero’ by 2040.