Siemens Gamesa will install the first full scale “Future Energy System – FES“ on the Trimet SE aluminum smelter site in Hamburg-Altenwerder, Germany. It will feature approximately 1,000 tons of rock fill which will be able to provide 30 MWh of electric energy at temperatures of 600 degree Celsius. After having been converted to heat in rock fill, excess wind energy is stored and protected with an insulated cover.
When there is a need for additional electricity, a steam turbine converts the heat energy back to electricity. The focus of Siemens Gamesa’s R&D activities was on the insulated container to house the rock fill which is the virtual battery and the core innovation. The round bodied shape of the storage container will have a decreasing diameter at both ends, where the inflow and the outflow openings are positioned. The ferroconcrete container will have a content of 800 cubic meters of rock-fill with a mass of 1,000 tons and will be covered with a meter thick layer of thermal insulation. Siemens Gamesa is expecting a construction time of approximately one year for the new FES system. The works in Hamburg-Altenwerder will start in December with commissioning planned spring 2019. After comprehensive testing, the new storage system will then be operated in collaboration with Hamburg Energie GmbH.
