German engineering group Bilfinger is helping to develop energy storage technology for Siemens Gamesa that uses heated rock-fill.
The system will store excess wind and solar energy as heat in the rock-fill and convert it back to electricity when needed by using steam generators, Bilfinger said.
The company is providing plant engineering and the water-steam cycle, while the heat storage, boiler and turbines will come from Siemens.
The facility will be built in Hamburg. A test facility has already been developed by Siemens Gamesa, the Hamburg University of Technology and local utility Hamburg Energie.
Siemens Gamesa program manager Till Barmeier said: “With Bilfinger we are relying on a partner that has already delivered components for the previous test project. We are therefore confident that we will be able to use our shared experience to turn this innovative concept into a success within 14 months.”
The system is slated to go online in spring 2019.
Image: the demo version of the rock heat storage project (Siemens Gamesa)
Bilfinger rocks German storage
By EBS