Equans is developing an innovative renewable energy storage solution

While renewable energy has a major role to play in the energy transition, it has the drawback of being intermittent and sometimes being generated in greater quantities than the grid requires. The solution, therefore, lies in energy storage. Equans, in partnership with Blue Solutions, has been selected by RTE (Réseau de Transport d’Électricité) to test a storage system that will make it possible to utilize this renewable energy output while preventing congestion in the power grid.

Equans and Blue Solutions Partner to Store Renewable Energy

In Ventavon, in the Hautes-Alpes, Equans is participating in the construction of one of the three pilot units for the RINGO demonstration project. This ambitious and innovative project (approved by the CRE) will feature a next-generation LMP® (Lithium Metal Polymer) battery, known as an “all-solid-state” battery, which offers the particular advantage of being safer because it is non-flammable. Designed by Blue Solutions, a subsidiary of the Bolloré Group, the battery has a capacity of 10 MW and can store the equivalent of the electricity consumption of 10,000 households. The energy stored in the battery when the grid is at risk of becoming overloaded is simultaneously released elsewhere.

In the RINGO project, Blue Solutions is the lead contractor of the consortium that will supply and install the LMP® batteries. Equans will be responsible for civil engineering studies and connection work. Equans’ SCLE teams will handle the design, supply, testing, and commissioning of the electrical equipment, the energy conversion system, the storage system’s control and monitoring system, and the high-voltage substation.

Storing Renewable Energy: An Innovation That Enhances the Performance of the Electric Grid

The key to the project lies in the power converter, which acts as an interface between the batteries—which operate on direct current—and the grid, which operates on alternating current. It converts the energy stored in the batteries into electricity that is distributed over the power lines and helps maintain grid stability.

The converter, along with the filter, the precharge device, and the cooling system, will be housed in two containers.

Work will begin in June 2020, with the first tests scheduled to begin in June 2021. Equans will then coordinate the construction phase.

Ventavon, a Strategic Electrical Infrastructure

The Ventavon substation is a strategic hub for the region’s power grid. In fact, it is the convergence point for three power lines, but has only a single transmission line leading to the coast via Sisteron, thus acting as a bottleneck that concentrates local hydroelectric and solar power generation. The RINGO project is rehabilitating the site of a former hydroelectric dam, positioning the Buëch region as a leader in renewable energy production!