MAN showcases solutions for energy storage and sythetic-fuel production

At the Energy Storage Europe trade fair in Duesseldorf (Germany) from March 12 to 14, MAN Energy Solutions will present a portfolio of storage solutions, including Power-to-X applications, its ETES (Electro-Thermal Energy Storage) energy management system, as well as battery-storage and hybrid systems for decentralised energy generation.

At Energy Storage Europe, the company is presenting a 50 MW complete solution on an industrial scale. Marc Grünewald, Head of Business Development, Power and New Energies at MAN Energy Solutions, said: “With the help of Power-to-X, climate-neutral synthetic gas can be produced which reduces the carbon footprint in a wide range of applications without the need for major infrastructural investment. For example, CO2 emissions can also be reduced in all areas where the use of batteries is not possible. This applies, for example, to international shipping where complete electrification is not technically feasible, especially in the case of container ships.”

MAN Energy Solutions is also presenting its innovative, tri-generation ETES (Electro-Thermal Energy Storage) solution, developed jointly with ABB. Dr. Dominik Heiß, Head of Energy Storage at MAN Energy Solutions, said: “ETES is a flexible storage-and-energy-management system that allows electricity, heat and cold to be generated, stored and used across sectors. We are very excited about its potential.”

The technology uses renewable energy to generate heat and cold, which can be stored in insulated reservoirs and converted back into electricity or used directly. Utilisation and distribution can take place parallel to the storage process. Typical heat applications include district heating or supplying the food industry, while cooling is used to cool data centers or air-condition large buildings, among other applications.

Storage solutions with longer unloading times are becoming more important

With the further expansion of renewable energies, it is necessary to balance supply-and-demand peaks over even longer periods of time. MAN Energy Solutions offers solar-thermal power plants (CSP – Concentrated Solar Power) with integrated salt storage. Heiß added: “With the help of thermal salt storage, we can make solar energy base-load-capable and relieve the load on the grid.” With the help of salt-storage systems, conventional power plants could also be used as energy storage.

Storage technologies such as CAES (Compressed Air Energy Storage) and LAES (Liquid Air Energy Storage) allow large quantities of energy to be stored at low cost. The core of these storage technologies are turbo-machines that compress or liquefy air and generate electricity when required again. MAN Energy Solutions is a leading supplier of efficient and flexible compressors, turbines and expanders for these technologies.

Heiß concluded: “Due to our comprehensive portfolio, we have the ability to develop solutions based on a variety of technologies and thus to respond perfectly to our customers’ challenges.”