Trucks as a part of the grid, energy storage made easy

Project Information

ALELION

Grant agreement ID: 775428

DOI

10.3030/775428

Project closed

EC signature date 15 May 2017

Start date 1 June 2017

End date 30 November 2017

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Secure, clean and efficient energy

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

ALELION ENERGY SYSTEMS AB
Sweden

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ALELION (Trucks as a part of the grid, energy storage made easy)

Reporting period: 2017-06-01 to 2017-11-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Through the novel solutions in Alelion Innovation Energy (AIE), we make new and existing battery storage in lift truck fleets available for use as power-grid balancing units and enables on-site peak load shavings, energy optimization and energy trading. Storage capacity is critical to de-carbonise the power-grid by enabling higher volume of cheaper renewables. The truck fleet energy storage concept contributes to bridging fluctuations from renewable energy such as wind and photovoltaic sources, the optimizing options contributes to energy efficiency and cost-cuts and the combination of energy storage capacity and a trading system facilitates the transition to a efficient, agile and resilient energy system. Meanwhile Alelion’s lithium-ion battery solutions in lift trucks and in charging infra structure supported by fleet- and energy management systems increase dependability, serviceability and overall operational economy for end users with a proven ROI in less than a year.

A traditional lift truck-fleet in a goods management centre is a major consumer/user of primary energy. An average size electrified lift truck uses energy worth of approximately € 50.000 under its five to eight-year primary lifecycle and a conversion to Li-ion batteries reduces the energy use by 50%. Today there are approximately 125 0000 lift trucks in Europe, approximately 1,5% of these trucks are equipped with Lithium-ion batteries. If the entire lift truck fleet would be equipped with innovative solutions as presented in this project, i.e. the AIE- suit; Site Optimsier (AIE-SO) and Grid Trading (AIE-GT) which in an intelligent way integrates and optimise the site with the grid, an additional 12,5 GWh would be available to flex. The graphics gives an overview of the added value and novelty.

The main client, the truck-fleet owner, will be more sustainable in every aspect where savings in € and decreased greenhouse gases are main benefits. The stakeholder, grid operators, will benefit from a more balanced grid-unit that uses energy when it is a surplus. There are several benefits for us, recognition as market leader, new business line, new revenue streams with a 30% profit margin when fully developed and deployed are some.
We see great potential impact in the launch of AIE solutions, which encourages us in the continuation of the project. All over the world, the investments in fossil free energy production are increasing and many actors describe lack of energy storage as the greatest barrier to overcome. When looking upon the aspect of engagement in a collaboration project within an EU H2020 cluster, it is as strategically important for Alelion as creation of a SME Phase 2 project.
In conclusion; Alelion considers the SME Phase 1 project to have been very successful and would like to extend a sincere ‘Thank you’ to the European commission for granting us this opportunity. It is our hope that the commission will continue to support us on our journey and in our ambition to deliver innovative, profitable and sustainable existing energy storage systems that will support the implementation of sustainable energy production and creation of business opportunities all over Europe.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

In short, the Phase 1 project has been a success that has verified what the management team of Alelion Energy systems believed to be true before initiating the project; that the market has a clear and well defined need for a solution that Alelion can provide, and that the solution will create business growth as well as improvement in sustainability for the European society. As a direct result of this conclusion, there is not a single doubt in the minds of the management of Alelion that the project and the company shall continue in building useful energy storage solutions. Alelion’s vision has always been to establish itself as a leading supplier of sustainable energy storage systems. The Phase 1 project has served its purpose in confirming the need on the market. The over-all concept per se has not changed to a large extent, however the approach and the methodology have changed as a result of the Phase 1 project. It has been established during the project that in order to fully meet the demand from the market there is a strong need to cover a very wide span of business scenarios in Europe in order to develop attractive business models for the selected key markets and to prepare the production line for a successful market introduction. The reasoning behind this conclusion is that despite enjoying products that fit well in to the market there are a lot of improvements that can be made in order to ensure that the Alelion solution keeps its position as the leading sustainable grid connected energy storages.

During the course of our feasibility study, we have mainly focused on market information, segmentation, trends and competitors/competitive solutions. The purpose is to assess and pinpoint the optimal strategic configuration of our future SME Phase 2 project as well as increase our inbound business intelligence by further evaluating and developing our USP’s based on the competitor analysis; We have been focusing on the most important initial market segments to maximize impact and accelerated business development potential. We also aim at increasing our customer dialogue to acquire more knowledge about the optimal product positioning (product/market fit) in relation to the chosen market segment.

The Phase 1 project has served its purpose in confirming the need on the market. The over-all concept per se has not changed to a large extent, however the approach and the methodology have changed as a result of the Phase 1 project. It has been established during the project that in order to fully meet the demand from the market there is a strong need to cover a very wide span of business scenarios in Europe in order to develop attractive business models for the selected key markets and to prepare the production line for a successful market introduction. The reasoning behind this conclusion is that despite enjoying products that fit well in to the market there are a lot of improvements that can be made in order to ensure that the Alelion solution keeps its position as the leading sustainable grid connected energy storages.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Economic – A decrease in costs for the customer application, where Alelion’s innovative products are more viable than current state of the art: Lead-Acid Batteries without intelligent system interaction. By adapting the a holistic system perspective (vehicle fleet management as well as on-site implementation with buildings), the customer is able to both lower their electricity cost (storing electricity during periods of the day when prices are low) as well increase revenue by trading stored electricity (during periods of the day when prices are high and the internal usage is low). How: By providing the market with a more cost-efficient product (initial cost of purchase as well as maintenance) that also provides the customer with additional income possibilities through the implementation of Alelion´s Energy Trading System which results in higher Return on Investment.

Industrial – Alelion’s solution has a larger amount of charging cycles and the on-site optimizer as well as Energy Trading system requires minimal maintenance work, making it more suitable from an industrial perspective. It should also be mentioned that by implementing Alelion´s Intelligent Energy storage systems, the installation will also have a notable positive impact on the environment which plays an increasingly important role in most larger stakeholders CSR strategy. How: By providing the market with an innovative product that that enables intelligent energy storage and trading with minimal maintenance and has a substantial impact on the environment compared to its competitors by lowering peak production for the energy company, optimizing internal energy usage and being able to play an active role in providing stored energy for the benefit of outside stakeholders during periods of a higher effect (W) need on the grid.

Social – Minimizing the usage of primary fuel for expensive top peak production plays a vital from a social perspective (in addition to the environmental benefits). By lowering the need for expensive infrastructural investments to certify energy security during periods of a high demand, investments from a public perspective can be made in other fields instead, increasing the impact and value of taxes paid by the inhabitants of the EU. How: By being able to store energy during periods of the day when output is low, which can then be utilized when there is a high demand for electricity, Energy Companies are able to decrease their investments and maintenance in expensive infrastructure such as production units (often utilizing fossil fuels to manage peak production). Funds that previously were used to handle these energy security issues can instead be reinvested in more productively for the benefit of the end-users.

The AIES solution