Battery storage in the virtual power plant: Example from Bern

An impressive example of the energy future in action is the company’s own energy laboratory in the Bodenweid business park. Here, sustainable, scalable storage solutions are being developed to optimise self-consumption and reduce peak loads, based on various battery technologies such as hydrogen, redox flow, sodium-ion or sodium-nickel. A place where the energy transition is already a reality.

From discussion to implementation

To mark its 125th anniversary, BKW launched the ‘Living Spaces 2025’ initiative with the aim of providing fresh impetus for liveable, sustainable living spaces. In a joint project with partners such as S + F Solutions AG, concrete discussions were held on the future-proof design of the energy system in order to harness its potential.

A key topic was the use of the controllability of decentralised systems, for example the use of battery storage systems to stabilise the system. With the solution Energy Powerflex BKW offers the possibility of pooling and marketing controllable small-scale systems, including batteries. Via the so-called Powerflex-Box, an intelligent communication interface, these systems are integrated into BKW’s virtual power plant. This enables their flexibility to be marketed on the energy market, for example on the balancing energy market, making it available for grid stabilisation when required.

Decided quickly and implemented consistently

No sooner had the discussion got under way than S + F Solutions AG had already made its decision. The company invested in its own battery storage system. This was driven not only by economic opportunities, but also by the tangible contribution to security of supply and sustainability in the Swiss electricity grid.

“For us, investing in a battery storage system is a logical step towards benefiting economically from the growing importance of flexibility marketing while also actively contributing to grid stability and the energy transition.” says Mathias Fernandez, Managing Director of S + F Solutions AG.

Today, the battery is fully integrated into BKW’s virtual power plant. It provides flexible capacity and responds within seconds to short-term fluctuations in the electricity grid – whether caused by overload or underload.

A strong example of how a collaborative idea can become a market-ready solution with genuine system benefits in a very short time.

S + F Solutions AG, headquartered in Bern, stands for technological innovation. As a forward-looking company, it develops and implements holistic solutions in the areas of renewable energies, storage technologies and telecommunications infrastructure. Whether seasonal hydrogen-based energy storage systems for PV power or systems for optimising self-consumption and reducing peak loads using redox flow or sodium-ion batteries: S + F Solutions AG turns theory into practice. In the company’s own energy laboratory in Bümpliz, new technologies are tested and further developed under real-life conditions. The portfolio is complemented by sustainable services in the areas of telecom network transformation, refurbishment and the circular economy, always with the aim of reconciling environmental responsibility with technological efficiency.

What exactly is the balancing energy market?

If more energy is consumed than generated in the electricity grid, or vice versa, the grid becomes unbalanced. Swissgrid, the operator of the transmission grid, is responsible for its stability. As it does not own any power plants itself, it purchases the capacity required at short notice on the balancing energy market. Small decentralised systems can also participate in this market, bundled via a virtual power plant, and thus actively contribute to grid security.

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