EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Supporting Global Megatrends

with Energy Storage
Alexandra Goodson, Global Product Marketing Manager, ABB

OCTOBER 26, 2022

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Global energy megatrends impact

energy storage applications.

• Battery energy storage systems are

increasingly coupled with renewable
assets.

• Five key energy storage applications

capture multiple value propositions.

• ABB offers a range of energy

storage systems to address every
customer’s needs.

in partnership with
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Supporting Global Megatrends
with Energy Storage

OVERVIEW 2. Decarbonization. The goal to limit global warming

Global megatrends in the energy industry are shifting and reduce carbon footprint is spurring an increase
towards decarbonization, decentralization, and digitali- in renewable generation and decreased dependen-
zation, leading to increases in renewable generation, cy on generation through fossil fuels. Decarboniza-
new loads from electric vehicles, and an array of tion also includes adoption of electric vehicles,
distributed assets along the distribution grid. vehicle-to-grid smart charging, and clean assets
coming onto the grid to replace the fossil-fuel
To support these trends, energy storage solutions burning assets.
(ESS) will be a critical component within the grid of the
3. Digitization. Decentralization and decarbonization
future. ABB energy storage solutions offer flexibility
efforts require digital connection to work. Network
and reliability to maintain consistent energy supply,
technologies such as smart meters, remote controls,
reduce energy costs, and meet energy needs of today
and cloud management are needed to handle assets
and into the future.
behind the meter and assist utilities in accessing
information to make decisions, but in a secure way
CONTEXT using appropriate cybersecurity protocols.
Alexandra Goodson discussed global energy mega- These three trends come into play across the different
trends and how they impact energy storage applica- applications within energy storage.
tions. She then shared information on ABB’s energy
storage systems and energy management system.
To have all three trends work well
KEY TAKEAWAYS together and be successful, we have
Global energy megatrends impact energy to have an asset that gives dispatch
storage applications. ability, can support ancillary services
Global megatrends across different industries and and frequency response, and
segments create needs that energy storage innovations integrates non-dispatchable assets
can help fulfill. Three important energy megatrends are:
like renewables and helps them
1. Decentralization. Traditional, centralized power support the loads. [ABB’s] flexible
generation with long transmission lines that feed products help all of these
load centers located far from a generation site is
applications.
shifting to decentralized generation, including
rooftop solar facilities and other renewable assets Alexandra Goodson, ABB
located along lines and transmission distribution
co-located with some loads. This is driving a push for
microgrids and even the ability to disconnect the
grid for cybersecurity and/or resiliency. Decentraliza-
tion also enables a market for demand response
programs and ancillary services.

PAGE 2
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Supporting Global Megatrends
with Energy Storage

Battery energy storage systems are Five key energy storage applications capture
increasingly coupled with renewable assets. multiple value propositions.
BESS (battery energy storage system) is a generic There are multiple value propositions that an energy
name for any equipment that stores energy in batteries storage solution can address via five core applications:
and uses or discharges energy later when it is advanta- energy shifting; peak shaving; frequency regulation,
geous. Renewable assets are increasingly being reserve, and response; capacity firming; and spinning
coupled with a BESS, whether a large-scale require- reserve.
ment or to support smaller loads with rooftop solar or
1. Energy shifting involves storing electricity in the
EV chargers. Often, renewable energy sources are
energy storage system for use at a later, pre-speci-
combined with a BESS to store the renewable energy
fied time. This bulk energy can be discharged during
during peak production time and then the energy is
periods of high demand on the grid, whether by high
used when it is needed.
pricing to sell energy back onto the market or
Batteries are not the only type of energy storage charging in periods of lower-cost energy and then
medium; determining an optimal energy storage using that energy during higher-cost periods to
technology for a given application is based on both the support load. This is a common potential application
power range required and duration of discharge. for C&I customers to arbitrage electricity rates.
However, energy storage for renewable assets is
Coupling energy shifting with a renewable, such as
heavily trending toward batteries.
rooftop solar or a co-located solar site, allows lever-
Lithium-ion is a highly versatile, proven technology aging of time-of-day pricing. It can also optimize
family of batteries with many chemistries, offering electricity consumption and defer investment for
benefits such as higher energy density and power grid upgrades in cases where existing infrastructure
efficiency, superior cycle life, and longer calendar life. may not be able to support long charging periods,
This technology is therefore particularly interesting for such as EV roadside charging. In these cases,
energy storage solutions. energy can be shifted overnight to use during the
day to supplement the grid power.
Figure 1: The energy storage landscape
Figure 2: Using energy shifting to reduce cost and maintain
grid performance

PAGE 3
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Supporting Global Megatrends
with Energy Storage

2. Peak shaving is similar to energy shifting, but the For example, solar farm installation regulations
main driver is to reduce peak demand to ultimately might require the frequency at point of interconnec-
reduce the electricity bill or make operations more tion to be within a predefined dead band, leading to
economical. Peak shaving is typically applied when solar developers installing energy storage systems
the energy storage system is owned by the electric- that would drop frequency quickly and temporarily at
ity consumer, rather than by the utility. The goal is to the point of interconnection, in the event of passing
avoid demand charges (power fees) and the installa- weather conditions such as a dark cloud moving
tion of capacity to supply the peaks of a highly over the panels.
variable load.
Figure 4: Frequency regulation, reserve, and response offers
As with energy shifting, peak shaving reduces charging and discharging in small cycles

electricity bills and helps defer grid upgrades. Peak

shaving using an energy storage system can be
applied to EV charging, as well, especially when
using a high-power charger.

Figure 3: Peak shaving pre-schedules energy management

activity based on tariff structure

4. As generation decentralizes and the industry shifts

to renewable assets that produce intermittent
energy, electricity generation can be turned up or
down and dispatched by a grid operator. Capacity
firming allows the variable, intermittent power
output from a renewable power plant, such as wind
or solar, to be maintained at a committed level for a
3. Frequency regulation, reserve, and response is
period of time.
when the energy storage system is charged or
discharged in response to the frequency on the grid, Digitization plays an important role. Using built-in
such as when maintaining a frequency within a parameters, the energy storage system smooths
certain dead band or following a signal-driving out the power, so the grid sees consistent rather
frequency. This approach to frequency regulation than intermittent energy, making it easier to
(fast frequency response) is a particularly attractive manage.
option due to its rapid response time and emission-
free operation and can be used to support existing
generation assets or as an ancillary service.

PAGE 4
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Supporting Global Megatrends
with Energy Storage

Figure 5: Capacity firming uses built-in parameters to smooth Figure 6: Spinning reserve reduces cost and emissions
the power supply

5. In a spinning reserve application, energy storage ABB offers a range of energy storage
systems can respond within milliseconds and supply systems to address every customer’s needs.
power to maintain network continuity, while the ABB offers different levels of energy storage systems
back-up generator is started and brought online. This based on customer-specific controls and intelligence
enables generators to work at optimum power requirements: the smaller eStorage Flex, the higher-
output, without the need to keep idle capacity for capacity eStorage Max, and the eStorage OS energy
spinning reserves. This eliminates the need to have management system. Depending on the needed C-rate
back-up generators running idle. To provide effective and how the system will be used, the ultimate sizing
spinning reserve, the energy storage is maintained will vary, but every solution is lithium-ion battery
at a level of charge ready to respond to a power based, scalable, and includes critical fire detection and
failure. Often, cost and CO2 emission savings are suppression.
easy to quantify in cases where spinning reserve is
applied. ABB recommends designing safety systems to not
only meet insurance providers’ requirements, but to
Spinning reserve is a reliable first step in displacing
achieve minimal impact of a potential thermal runaway,
diesel generators. While working groups are re-
especially in reaching other battery cells. Preventing
searching long-duration storage technology, ABB
propagation lowers the impact of a thermal runaway.
currently recommends against replacing a full diesel
generator or system with an energy storage sys- ABB eStorage Flex units are smaller capacity systems
tem. Complete diesel generator replacement is that are pre-wired, pre-tested, and AC-coupled, offered
possible from an energy supply standpoint, but not in three different sizes: Flex-10, Flex-20, and Flex-40.
economical.
In Europe, ChargePoint Operators (CPOs) generate
revenue from charging EV vehicles, motivating CPOs
to install EV chargers as quickly as possible. Because
many charge locations are fairly remote, existing grid
infrastructure at the location may only be a low-voltage

PAGE 5
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Supporting Global Megatrends
with Energy Storage

Figure 7: Core components of every ABB energy storage system Figure 8: eStorage Flex-20 Integrate Energy Storage

ABB provided frequency regulation to the grid in a 20

megawatt hour (Mwh) project. While the project’s full
connection, limiting the power that can be pulled and
scope was 200 Mwh, the operator wanted to locate
provided through a high-power charger. To address this
different 20 Mwh sites throughout the country. Each of
problem, ABB installed a Flex-20 solution with approxi-
six feeders includes battery containers, coupled with
mately 500 kilowatt hours (Kwh) of energy, using the
the inverter and protection, then the transformer.
capacity provided by the solution to peak shave.
When determining power and energy requirements for
Due to grid limitations, a set power threshold could not an energy storage system, measuring on the installed
be exceeded, so on-site controls were applied to capacity side, the high side of the transformer, or other
monitor power pulled from the grid, discharging to location is one factor in understanding system sizing.
supplement energy when the threshold was ap-
ABB eStorage OS is an energy management system
proached. In addition, the energy storage systems
that can be applied in four variations:
formed the grid, using the inverter to create synthetic
inertia to set the frequency and voltage for that “mini • Variant 1, Fieldbus connectivity with integrated
microgrid.” This allowed the chargers to continue monitoring and protection for external control.
charging vehicles in the event of a grid outage by using
• Variant 2, On-premise energy management system
capacity in the energy storage system, further support-
with integrated HMI and smart algorithms for
ing the CPO in generating revenue quickly, for as long
optimal performance.
as possible.
• Variant 3, On-premise energy management system
ABB eStorage Max applications are typically com- with advanced cloud connectivity and microgrid
posed of multiple feeders (one feeder being a trans- possibilities
former and all equipment behind it, including batteries
and inverters). Typically there are duplicate feeders to • Variant 4, Combining eStorage OS variants produc-
meet power and energy requirements. es a microgrid controller to manage all different
distributed generation and load assets.

PAGE 6
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Supporting Global Megatrends
with Energy Storage

Figure 9: An ABB 20 Mwh eStorage Max project

Figure 10: A microgrid controller configuration using eStorage OS

ABB. To learn more, visit https://new.abb.com/low-voltage/industries/energy-storage-systems

PAGE 7
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Supporting Global Megatrends
with Energy Storage

BIOGRAPHY
Alexandra Goodson
Global Product Marketing Manager, ABB

Alex Goodson began her career at ABB quoting me-

dium voltage transformers. She later transitioned into
the energy storage market and worked for a battery
manufacturer and ESS integrator. She returned to ABB
in 2020 to support the Energy Storage Solutions global
product group as a global product marketing manager.
She has over 10 years of experience with energy
storage. Alex graduated from Missouri University of
Science and Technology in Industrial Engineering. She
works from her home office in Jacksonville, Florida.

PAGE 8
© 2022 Endeavor Business Media. All rights reserved.