The companies FENECON GmbH and STABL Energy GmbH, together with the participating research institutions TU Munich and Kempten University of Applied Sciences, will receive funding in the amount of 945,300 euros. Bavaria’s State Secretary for Economic Affairs Roland Weigert handed over the Bavarian Research Foundation’s decision to the project partners on March 21, 2023 at STABL Energy’s Munich premises.
Munich, 22.03.2023 – In the context of the energy transition on the way to a 100% renewable electricity supply, battery storage systems in particular will play a key role in the future alongside a massive expansion of photovoltaics and wind power as well as electricity grids. The project “AI-based modular battery systems for commercial and grid applications – KI-M-Bat” addresses the rapidly growing demand for storage solutions. The project is particularly characterized by the fact that a battery storage system is being developed that can be operated flexibly with new and used batteries. “For our companies in trade and industry, the energy transition brings many opportunities, but also new economic and technological challenges: The energy supply must be secure, plannable and affordable. The KI-M-Bat project makes a very good contribution to overcoming these challenges and at the same time focuses on the future topic of battery recycling,” emphasized Bavaria’s State Secretary for Economic Affairs Roland Weigert on the occasion of the presentation of the funding decision by the Bavarian Research Foundation in Munich. Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. (NAS RA) Arndt Bode, President of the Bavarian Research Foundation, explained in the run-up to the award ceremony: “KI-M-Bat is an ideal example of the Research Foundation’s model, which aims to promote knowledge transfer through cooperation between industry and science. The consortium of a technology start-up, an innovative SME, a technical university and a university of applied sciences combines all the strengths of the Bavarian innovation system. It networks regional experts from Munich with those from Lower Bavaria and Swabia. This creates technological competitiveness and sustainable jobs throughout Bavaria.
Battery storage systems make sense for industry
The number of storage systems installed is still lagging behind, particularly among medium-sized commercial and industrial customers. It is therefore all the more pleasing for the players that a sum of up to 945,300 euros has now been made available for the research project. “We are delighted about the approval and will develop a modular hardware and controller concept for relevant grid applications as part of our joint research project,” explains Fabian Eckl, Head of Technology at FENECON. In addition to grid stabilization and the reduction of CO2, covering peak loads is also an argument for installing a battery storage system in the industrial sector. STABL Energy already has experience with the integration of used electric car batteries and has developed a technology that gives discarded electric car batteries a second life: “More and more electric cars are rolling onto Germany’s roads. In just a few years, we expect to see a large number of old batteries that can be put to good use as second-life storage units, particularly in the commercial sector.”
Scientific and technical concept as a basis for practical application
The Chair of Electrical Energy Storage Technology (EES) at the Technical University of Munich has in-depth knowledge in the field of battery characterization and modelling and deals with the design, operation and technical-economic application modelling of battery systems. Prof. Dr. Holger Hesse headed the group on stationary battery storage systems there and has dealt with the operation of stationary battery storage systems in energy industry applications in numerous research projects and publications. On September 1, 2022, Prof. Dr. Hesse was appointed to Kempten University of Applied Sciences (HS-K) to establish and head the “Smart Energy Systems” research professorship. “The aim of our new research group is to use stochastic optimization and machine learning methods to optimize the control of energy systems with energy storage systems in terms of functionality, efficiency and flexibility,” says Hesse.
Over the course of the project period from 2023 to the end of 2025, other partners from industry will also be added for networking and workshops. This means that the Bavarian cooperation project KI-M-Bat will have an impact beyond the state border in future.
About the Bavarian Research Foundation
The Bavarian Research Foundation was founded in 1990. In addition to state research funding, it supports cooperation projects between research institutions (universities or non-university institutions) and companies that are important for the scientific and technological development of Bavaria or the Bavarian economy. Since its establishment, the Bavarian Research Foundation has approved around 627 million euros for 1030 projects. Together with the co-financing shares of the Bavarian economy, a total project volume of 1.379 billion euros has been initiated.
About STABL Energy
STABL Energy develops innovative, modular inverters for battery storage systems. Founded in Munich in 2019 as m-Bee by Dr. Arthur Singer, Dr. Nam Truong, Martin Sprehe and Christoph Dietrich, STABL’s technology makes commercial, industrial and grid storage systems more efficient, reliable, safe and affordable.
The new approach also enables the seamless and simple integration of discarded batteries from electric vehicles. This increases the service life of these batteries, reduces their resource consumption and has a positive impact on the environment.
Press contact
Markus Förstl
STABL Energy GmbH
markus.foerstl@stabl.com
www.stabl.com