Wednesday 25 June 2014
Scientists are experimenting with a giant battery to see how it could be used by large business energy users.
The two megawatt (MW) lithium titanate battery from Toshiba is to be connected to the grid later this year.
Sheffield University is leading the energy storage research project based at the Willenhall primary substation, near Wolverhampton in the West Midlands.
Professor Dave Stone from the University of Sheffield’s Faculty of Engineering said: “Large scale batteries could reduce the need to keep energy generators on standby to respond to peaks in demand but it’s as yet unclear how this might be best managed commercially.
“Because this is a dedicated research facility, we’ll be able to explore the advantages of grid connected energy storage in a real operating environment but without commercial constraints.”