In partnership with the Alight project, Copenhagen Airport in Denmark has installed a battery for storing green power, becoming one of the first airports in Europe to do so.
The battery system was specifically built for Copenhagen Airport – taking into account the fire and smoke, IT and legal risks when operating a battery in an airport.
The battery system was provided by the Xolta and has a capacity of 900kW/1,200kWh. It will be located in Maglebylille, south of the terminals, near the airport’s workshops and garage facilities. Here, there are connected solar panels and charging stations that can be involved in various system tests without affecting the daily operation of the airport.
A project for the airport of the future
This project forms part of the EU project Alight, which comprises 17 partners that gather knowledge and experiences to find solutions for a more sustainable aviation future. Among the partners are European universities, Airbus, SAS, Germany’s Aerospace Center, the aviation organization IATA, and four European airports.
It aims to find answers on how electrification and various energy sources can become part of the configuration of the airport of the future, where aircraft, vehicles and buildings receive power from 100% renewable energy. The project will also evaluate scaling potentials for an industry where future infrastructure must be able to do more than what it does today. Copenhagen Airport will provide the setting for a series of experiments on storing and using green power, produced by solar and wind, in the most efficient manner.
The various demonstration activities and experiments with the battery will run until the end of 2025, where experiences and knowledge will be continuously collected and shared with other airports.
Maria Skotte, vice president of sustainability at Copenhagen Airport, said, “We are pleased that we have succeeded in installing the battery in Copenhagen Airport. It is an important step toward more sustainable operations at the airport. Now we need to start testing different scenarios and find the best solution for energy storage at the airport, which we can then further develop on a larger scale in the airport.”
“This is truly an exciting project we are engaged in. It will be a huge gain if we can manage to control the airport’s energy consumption more smartly. This means not only reducing our electricity costs but, more importantly, reducing CO2 emission levels,” continued Skotte.
Smart control is set to pave the way for efficient green power storage
With energy equipment provider Hybrid Greentech‘s management system, Copenhagen Airport will gain an overview of when it is most advantageous to store energy directly from the solar energy produced by the airport’s many solar panels, and when it makes sense to charge the battery with green power from the grid.
“With our advanced control, the battery system at the airport will interact with charging stations and other facilities. This combines the airport’s own CO2 reductions with indirect contributions to the overall energy system through so-called system services, which intervene quickly when the grid experiences disturbances,” said Christoffer Greisen, chief operating officer (COO) of Hybrid Greentech.
“The Alight project allows us to raise the bar and show how these cloud-based functions can work in conjunction with the secure systems used in critical infrastructure.”
“With the 1,350 new charging stations for electric cars that Copenhagen Airport will have in the coming years, it is crucial to embrace battery technology and build experiences with the many possibilities available,” said Skotte.
Security risks
The airport also asserted that the risks associated with operating a battery in an airport are numerous. Through the collaboration between Copenhagen Airport, Danish Technological Institute and Hybrid Greentech, all partners in the Alight project, it has been possible to minimize the risks that hindered the installation and upcoming commissioning of the battery.
Lars Overgaard, project manager of the Technical Institute, said, “Fire and smoke development, data leaks, and legal issues are some of the risks and barriers associated with setting up a battery in an airport environment. Therefore, at Danish Technological Institute, we are pleased to have contributed to specifying the battery system and conducting unique safety tests that have helped make it successful at Copenhagen Airport.
“The control system delivered by Hybrid Greentech has been tested for functionality and operational reliability in our EnergyFlexLab. In this way, we have tested the management in a secure environment, reducing the risk of inadequacies in the airport’s critical infrastructure.”
In related news, Vancouver International Airport (YVR) recently partnered with clean-tech company Moment Energy to deliver a new battery energy storage system (BESS) at the airport that repurposes retired electric vehicle (EV) batteries. Click here to read the full story.