Germany – RWE couples a 117 megawatts battery with hydropower stations to balance the German power grid. The combination of power storage and flow-trough management of two run-of-river power stations will be running next year.  

Spread across two locations and coupled with hydropower stations – RWE is building one of the largest and most innovative battery storage systems in Germany. A battery system with a total capacity of 117 megawatts is being installed at the company’s power plants in Lingen (Lower Saxony) and Werne (North Rhine-Westphalia).

Balancing energy

What is special about this project is that the batteries will be virtually coupled with RWE’s run-of-river power stations along the river Mosel. By raising or decreasing the flow-through at these power stations, RWE can make additional capacity available, also as balancing energy. This coupling process raises the total capacity of the batteries by another good 15 percent. So the battery and the hydropower stations work hand in hand to help keep the frequency in the power grid stable.

Around 50 million euros are being invested in this project. The system is scheduled to start operations at the end of 2022. The planned system comprises 420 lithium-ion battery racks, housed in 47 overseas shipping containers. The system at the Gersteinwerk in Werne will have a capacity of 72 MW while the one at the Emsland station in Lingen will have 45 MW.

RWE released a film about the new project

Facts and figures

  • Mega battery plus hydropower
  • Project name    Megabattery117plus
  • Location              Lingen (Lower Saxony)
  • Werne (North Rhine-Westphalia)
  • System 420 lithium-ion battery racks in 47 overseas shipping containers
  • Total capacity    Lingen: 45 megawatts
  • Werne: 72 megawatts
  • Planned commissioning 2022