2nd Life for Power Plants

The 2LIPP project will partially retrofit the Bornholm CHP plant with a scalable hybrid energy storage system consisting of three low-cost, storage technologies (novel molten hydroxide salt storage, lithium battery which is based on reused car batteries, and a flywheel, based on non-rare metals and with unprecedented lifetime), which all improve state-of-the art in their own way – also within sustainability. The technologies will be operated through an innovative management system (EMS) to charge and dispatch the hybrid storage system in the best way possible. The 2LIPP demonstration will serve as a proof-of-concept for a disruptive approach to transitioning traditional power and combined heat and power plants away from fossil fuels, while maintaining a secure supply of energy and stability of the electrical grid. The 2LIPP concept greatly reduces the costs of energy storage by reusing existing facilities at power plant sites. Also, the innovative combined operation of several technologies through the EMS allows for deployment of storage technologies in their relative ‘sweet-spots’ leading to optimal efficiencies and improves lifetimes.

The low cost and high efficiency that stems from the 2LIPP approach will accelerate the availability of storage technologies and systems to bring about net zero in the electrical and heating sectors. Deploying hybrid storage with the 2LIPP concept can maintain the role of power plants as critical nodes in the grid, and enable these sites to provide grid stability at both short and long timescales, thus ensuring that Europe can integrate renewable energy without a rising risk of blackouts. The project also develops feasibility case studies for utility companies to serve possible road maps for utility companies to decide on the most viable investment for retrofitting their plants.