BlueStor project trials battery tech for port
A project using flow battery technology to power port and vessel operations has won UK government backing to trial its commercial feasibility.
BlueStor is an energy storage and distribution system based on organic flow battery technology that will be trialled at the international port of Portsmouth, on the south coast of England.
The project is going ahead with four main parties behind it: BEIS, the government’s Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy; MSE International, a consortium for marine industries set up to stimulate growth and innovation; Swanbarton, a battery and energy storage consultancy; and Houlder, a design and engineering consultancy that serves the marine and energy sectors.
German battery firm CMBlu Energy will provide its scalable redox flow battery for the project. It claims the battery is ‘the first truly green battery technology that’s ready to scale’.
One of its key advantages over conventional batteries like lead-acid or lithium-ion is its long duration capability, which is achieved with a stack of electro-chemical cells that convert electricity into chemical energy before being stored in charged electrolytes in external tanks.
If the storage capacity is not enough it can easily be scaled up, the project leaders say.
“Decarbonisation of the ports and shipping sector is creating huge increases in electrical power demand, often beyond the capacity of existing grid connections,” the consortium says.
“Significant additional electrical supply capacity is needed to provide shore power to vessels alongside and in time to recharge electrically propelled vessels. The intermittent nature of power demand in ports makes them good candidates for long duration energy storage and management solutions.”
The project aims to achieve two tasks:
1. To supply electricity to visiting vessels and in-port assets such as cranes and port vehicles at less cost and using electricity wholesale price arbitrage to save money
2. To sell balancing services such as reserve power and demand to grid operators or aggregators.
Once commercial and technical feasibility is ascertained in phase 1, a prototype flow battery will be built to demonstrate the supply of electricity to visiting cruise ships when at berth in Portsmouth.
“This BlueStor solution will give the port a real boost in our efforts to reach net-zero by 2030,” said Mike Sellers, director of Portsmouth International Port. “It will reduce emissions from port operations and provide an innovative solution that will allow ports and ship owners to work collaboratively on providing shore power.”
