The workshop was done in collaboration between BatteryLoop, Stena Rederi, Port of Gothenburg, DNV and GENAB (Göteborg Energi Nät AB).
Stena Line plans to start operating two fossil-free battery powered vessels on the route between Gothenburg, Sweden and Frederikshavn in Denmark no later than 2030. The vessels will be operating from Stena Line’s new relocated terminal in Arendal. To enable charging of the emission-free ferries an extensive expansion of the grid capacity to the port is required to enable the increased power demand from the vessels.
To support the transformation to an electrified route between Gothenburg and Frederikshavn a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) could be part of the solution. A BESS could relieve the grid load by reducing peak power demand when the vessels are charging and thus reduce the power cost for Stena Line. When there is no demand for charging from the vessels for instance during nighttime and at low season, the BESS could also help support the grid with frequency regulation or participate in the local flexibility market.
“The biggest challenge when analyzing the future business case for this BESS installation is the time horizon. Since the potential BESS would start operating in 2030 the uncertainties are high when for instance considering the electricity cost, but especially the future development of frequency regulation and flexibility markets. A lot can happen in 8 years’ time. The current change into a renewable energy system combined with the electrification of society is a trend that most likely will create an even bigger demand for power and flexibility.“ – Johan Karlsson, Senior Energy Analyst at BatteryLoop
Arendal which is located on Hisingen, Gothenburg will face a big increase in power demand in the coming years. In addition to Stena Elektra, the energy transition will create increased electricity demand from battery production, petrochemistry and the vehicle industry.
“The latest developments and the forecasted increased power demand in Gothenburg have not been experienced before over such a short period of time. This will require significant expansion of the grid capacity in the area, and it will likely be challenging to increase the grid capacity in line with the expected timelines of the developments. However, there are also many opportunities and possibilities with such extensive expansion for new and innovative ideas and solutions. One idea is the large energy storage system proposed for Arendal. Such a system can reduce capacity needs and support the power grid with increased grid stability, flexibility and redundancy, and possibly even supporting the whole city of Gothenburg in a potential grid island operation.“ – Lucas Thomée, Team Leader at DNV Energy in Sweden
The result from the workshop shows a large potential for Stena Line to reduce operating costs and generate revenue from frequency regulation or flexibility markets when combining a correctly dimensioned ESS with charging of Stena Elektra.
For mor information contact:
Johan Karlsson, Senior Energy Analyst, BatteryLoop, johan.karlsson@batteryloop.com
Lucas Thomée, Team Leader, DNV Sweden, lucas.thomee@dnv.com
