According to information from 14 November, Deutsche Bahn is planning to use the „Steady Green Energy“ battery storage system built by Fluence (provider of energy storage systems and optimisation software for renewable energies and storage) at the Steag Iqony Group's Duisburg-Walsum power plant site from 2026. The aim is to make their power supply more flexible and greener. To this end, the Group subsidiary DB Energie and the energy company Iqony have concluded a Power Storage Agreement (PSA). The agreement between the two companies stipulates that DB Energie will utilise 35 MW of the battery storage facility, which has a total capacity of around 50 MW, for a period of five years.
According to Christian Karalis, the Iqony Co-Head of Business Development responsible for the battery storage project, it is a 4-hour 200 MWh storage system „that can absorb green electricity or provide it as required“ .
Deutsche Bahn: Flexible use of renewable energies
Deutsche Bahn is aiming to be climate-neutral by 2040, with the increased use of renewable energies playing a central role in traction current. The current share is
68 %, as Florian Reuter, Chairman of the Management Board of DB Energie, explains. The battery storage system from Iqony is used to ensure a stable power supply even when there is no sun or wind.
This stores surplus energy and feeds it back into the grid when required. With a capacity of 140 MWh, electricity can be temporarily stored for around three million ICE kilometres per year, further improving the sustainable energy supply of the railway.
According to Reuter, the project not only brings with it technical innovations, but also opens up new avenues for co-operation: Until now, companies have had to finance and operate battery storage systems themselves. Thanks to a new contract model (PSA), expertise and resources could be utilised more efficiently.
The market for battery storage is growing and will play a key role for the railway's energy supply in the future. Florian Reuter emphasises that this commitment also promotes the urgently needed expansion of battery storage systems in Germany.
Fluence: shaping the energy infrastructure of the future
„As a leading provider of large-scale battery storage systems in Germany, we are very pleased about the collaboration with Iqony and the forward-looking use of the storage system by DB Energie“, says Markus Meyer, Managing Director of Fluence Energy GmbH.
„With our location and technology centre in Erlangen, investing in Germany is particularly important to us. Since our foundation, we have continuously invested in technological development on site. We are proud that our technology is being used by such important companies as DB Energie to drive forward the decarbonisation of the transport sector. It is a matter close to our hearts to support companies like DB Energie in achieving their climate targets in Germany.“
