be.storaged helping to unlock the power of flexibility
As the share of renewables in the energy system increases, so does the importance of flexibility to offset the volatility of renewable production. With availability of conventional fossil power plants diminishing, the burden is shifting towards power storage systems and demand-side flexibility.
I recently had an enlightening discussion on this topic with Hendrik Brockmeyer, the managing director of be.storaged GmbH. The company specializes in integrating and operating Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) and aiding industrial and commercial (I&C) companies in harnessing their flexibility. be.storaged operates primarily in Germany, but also has a presence in other European countries and Japan. They offer besides battery integration a software solution that manages processes from the aggregation of flexibility to optimization, market bid creation, importing results, and dispatching assets, primarily focusing on “behind the meter flexibility.”
Hendrik highlighted the challenge of working with I&C companies to help them recognize and monetize their flexibility. Large industries with their own energy procurement units are already direct market participants and can leverage their flexibility. However, smaller I&C companies, with annual energy consumption around 3-4 GWh, represent a segment that has not yet entered the flexibility market and holds significant potential for growth. Be.storaged focuses on developing projects in collaboration with these customers, building and operating BESS using their in house built software platform, which can also be sold to third parties as a software solution for managing flexibility.
Turning to residential customers, Hendrik noted that communities are at the very early stage of commercially utilizing their flexibility. He suggested that once communities are enabled to monetize their aggregated flexibility, local Distribution System Operators (DSOs) would likely become the operators of that flexibility and therefore primary customers for software solutions like the one from be.storaged . be.Storaged is currently running a pilot project with a community, but overall, market participation by communities is still in its infancy.
Hendrik is optimistic that the flexibility market will see strong growth, driven by massive price volatility and frequent negative pricing, which will enhance the value of flexibility. However, regulations vary significantly across European countries. For instance, in Germany, an I&C customer can only commercialize its flexibility if it is agreed with local utility. Hendrik hopes that the pressure from price fluctuations will encourage legislative changes towards a more liberated flexibility market in Germany.
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