German developer and distributor of renewable energy systems Freqcon has installed an energy storage system, integrated with Maxwell’s ultracapacitors and lithium-ion batteries, for the Tallaght Smart Grid Testbed in Ireland.The energy storage system features Maxwell-developed ultracapacitors and lithium-ion batteries in order to support grid stability in residential and industrial settings.Ireland aims to reach 40% renewable energy generation by 2020.Operated by the South Dublin County Council and the Micro Electricity Generation Association (MEGA), the Tallaght Smart Grid Testbed is designed to demonstrate how energy storage can minimize electricity distribution issues and grid instability.MEGA secretary general Dudley Stewart said: “Freqcon’s Microgrid Stabilizer can be customized for individual projects, and the combination of batteries and Maxwell Ultracapacitors is a promising solution. We are looking forward to seeing more of these systems deployed in the field in the near future.”

The testbed features Freqcon’s Microgrid Stabilizer to enable voltage and frequency stabilization, with a lithium-ion batteries and Ultracapacitors for active power support in the grid’s distributed network.
Freqcon CEO Norbert Hennchen said: “The market for grid-tied energy storage systems is growing, and fast frequency response is a valuable system service to the grid. Ultracapacitors are the ideal technology to do this.”Maxwell president and CEO Dr Franz Fink said: “With a reduced number of fossil-fuel-based synchronous generators in operation, grid stability is becoming a challenge, and we expect Ultracapacitors will play an important role in addressing this issue”.