Cold storage facilities could become energy flexibility option with AI energy management
Clean Energy Wire
Industrial cold storage facilities could become more efficient and be transformed into cost-saving energy storage facilities that contribute to grid stability, the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU) has said. A software programme that uses self-learning artificial intelligence (AI) developed German start-up Flexality “offers impressive opportunities to achieve measurable success for the energy transition,” said Alexander Bonde, secretary general of the DBU, which is co-funding the project as part of its Storage and Grids initiative.
Estimates suggest that there are around 750 large cold storage facilities nationwide, the DBU said. The new AI programme “tunes the industrial cold stores to make optimal use of green electricity generated by renewable energies", explained Flexality founder Dyke Wilke. “Previously unused operating data is evaluated and coupled with electricity price forecasts." By coordinating energy requirements and prices, energy consumption and emissions of climate-damaging carbon dioxide (CO2) can be reduced, Wilke added. Using facilities as energy storage plays an important role, he noted. “This stabilises the networks and ensures the supply of cold chains."
If the system detects excess electricity peaks from renewable energy at cheaper prices, for example, the temperature in the cooling systems is reduced more than usual. If less green energy is available, the temperature is increased again. In this way, cold stores use less energy when the amount of electricity in the grid is reduced and more expensive and can then compensate for this as soon as electricity supply exceeds demand and prices drop. "This enables companies to use renewable energy more cost-effectively and at the same time more safely while helping to stabilise the electricity grid," Wilke said. "
German start-ups are playing an important role in Germany’s energy transition, particularly in the development of climate technologies. The number of young companies using AI has also increased dramatically in recent years.
