Ionity has integrated a battery storage system at one of its sites for the first time, enabling the number of charging points at a charging park in Baden-Württemberg to be increased. But this is just the beginning, as Ionity now plans to install 50 battery storage systems at its charging parks next year.
The use of battery storage systems is a key part of Ionity’s future expansion strategy, the company explained in response to a query from electrive. The charge point operator intends to deploy battery energy storage systems at selected locations to provide additional charging points and utilise the available energy more efficiently. At sites with photovoltaic systems, the batteries will also store locally generated solar power and make it available later for charging operations.
The company’s first charging park with an integrated battery storage system has now been operational for a few days in Wertheim, Baden-Württemberg. The existing charging park, located between an exit of the A3 motorway, a McDonald’s, and the Wertheim Village outlet centre, has now been expanded. While there were previously four charging points available, Ionity has now expanded to six charging points using the battery storage system, all of which operate with Alpitronic HYC400 charging stations. Two additional charging points are set to follow soon, equipped with an ABB charging station with a peak power of 350 kW.
In Wertheim, the primary purpose of the battery storage system is to bridge the time until the medium-voltage grid connection is upgraded. According to Ionity, this upgrade can take up to three years. The storage system is supplied by the Chinese manufacturer Sungrow and consists of four modular units with a total capacity of 1,028 kWh and a maximum power output of 500 kW. The batteries are housed as an external solution in switchgear cabinets on the charging park’s premises.
The additional storage capacity can be used in conjunction with the existing grid connection. An intelligent energy management system is designed to allocate the available power between the grid connection, battery storage, and charging points as needed. In addition to bridging limited grid connection capacities, Ionity sees further applications: during periods of high utilisation at the charging park, the battery storage system can provide additional charging power while simultaneously reducing peak loads.
Another project is under development in Hemsbach, Baden-Württemberg. This involves a completely new build: a fast-charging park with a photovoltaic canopy and battery storage system. The PV system is expected to achieve a capacity of more than 223 kWp, while the BESS will have a capacity of over 2 MWh. Unlike in Wertheim, locally generated solar power will also be stored and later used for charging at twelve fast-charging points.
In the long term, Ionity aims to use its battery storage systems beyond immediate charging operations. The company is already working on deploying BESS for grid services in the future, thereby contributing to the stability of the power grid. Participation in energy trading is also a potential avenue. To this end, Ionity is further developing its intelligent energy management system, which is designed to coordinate the grid connection, storage, solar systems, and charging points.
With scaling planned for 2027, which involves installing around 50 battery storage systems across Europe with a total capacity of more than 20 MWh, the use of BESS will become a central component of the fast-charging operator’s expansion strategy. There are several reasons for this step, as Christoph Strecker, Head of Rollout at Ionity, explained to electrive: “For us, it’s not just about building more charging points, but about creating the right charging infrastructure in the right locations and continuously improving the charging experience for our customers.”
Strecker continues: “Battery storage systems play a key role in this: they enable us to open up new locations, use electricity more efficiently, and take on an active role in the energy system in the future. Wertheim is just the beginning. With the planned Europe-wide expansion, we want to take the next big step towards a smarter, more powerful, and more flexible charging infrastructure.”
Battery storage technology can therefore benefit CPOs like Ionity in several ways: it can help bridge long waiting times for more powerful grid connections and bring charging parks into operation earlier or with more charging points. At the same time, it creates the conditions for more flexible electricity usage and, in the future, additional revenue opportunities through grid services and energy trading.
An interesting detail: so far, Ionity has only used external BESS systems, even though there are charging stations with integrated battery storage available on the market. External solutions currently offer Ionity more flexibility, as they can supply multiple charging points independently of the charging hardware used and can be deployed for various use cases, the company explains. This is why Ionity’s current focus is on external battery storage systems. However, the company remains open to charging systems with integrated battery storage and is evaluating their use.
Source: electrive – own research
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