THE MOST

BEAUTIFUL
BATTERIES IN
THE WORLD
BVES POSITION PAPER ON PUMPED STORAGE

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Of all the large-scale storage technologies, pumped storage is the
one that has by far the greatest share of electricity storage capaci-
ties in the world. Fast, flexible, highly efficient, versatile, powerful,
durable and sustainable, pumped storage is the heptathlete of the
energy system. In addition to providing demand-based storage of
electrical energy in large quantities, it masters the entire range of
system services. It ensures stable power grids and thus security
of supply. To make full use of its strengths in an increasingly decar-
bonized energy system, pumped storage must no longer be limited
in its ability to provide services to the system.

2 BVES E.V.
Pumped storage: The large water batteries are therefore also used as weekly and annual storage.
Pumped storage refers to mechanical storage systems Including the facilities near the border, pumped storage
that use water and gravity to store electrical energy. If systems with a total power of about nine gigawatts
there is excess electricity in the system, for example during contribute to the flexibility and stability of the German
high generation of renewable energy, water is pumped electricity systems.
from a valley basin (lower reservoir) to a higher mountain
basin (upper reservoir). When electricity is needed, water
flows from the mountain basin back into the valley basin. Pumped storage: Long-established players – with
In this process, the stored energy is recovered by turbines. new tasks
The greater the drop height and usable volume of water, In the past, the facilities mainly stored electricity at night
the greater the performance capacity of the storage sys- and on the weekend and fed it back into the grid at midday.
tem. Machines for pumps and turbines are usually located Today, the primary role of pumped storage is to balance
between the two basins, mostly in underground halls. The out renewable generation, thus keeping the electricity sys-
degree of efficiency for pumped storage is up to 88 per- tem reliable and secure. With the goal of 100% renewable
cent in pump or turbine mode. This results in a so-called energies, this task becomes hugely more important.
“cycle efficiency” – the entire cycle of pumps and turbines
or charging and discharging – of up to 80% at its peak. The production of energy from wind and sun fluctuates
The low-efficiency losses make them highly efficient. with the weather conditions. Wind blows inconsistently,
the light conditions change with the sun and clouds and
during the day. This development in the energy system
Pumped storage: Great past, even greater future has also changed how it functions, so that pumped stor-
The first operational pumped storage systems in Germany age is now operated with high flexibility and can quickly
are approaching their 100-year anniversary and have respond to the fluctuating energy generation.
been in continuous operation since they were commis-
sioned. This shows that the technology is built to last.
With regular maintenance and servicing, their lifespan is
virtually unlimited. This means that the ratio of resource
use in their construction, operation and effectiveness is The public utility Stadtwerke Trier is planning a
outstanding. The long use of raw materials ensures an pumped storage facility called “PSKW Rio” – the
excellent eco-balance. The long service life is also advan- name refers to the climate protection conference
tageous in terms of cost. Pumped storage facilities with that kicked off worldwide climate protection
a total output of more than six gigawatts are currently in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. This project aims to
installed in Germany. Most of these facilities can continu- balance the electricity consumption of the
ously feed energy into the supply system for four to eight entire region with the planned pumped storage
hours under full load conditions. The installed power of facility and to create the possibility of realizing
the individual pumped storage systems ranges from the a regional energy concept based on 100%
megawatt to the gigawatt class, such as in the facilities renewable energy. The plan is to store regional
in Goldisthal/Thuringia (1.06 GW) and Markersbach/ renewable generation directly in the region
Saxony (1.05 GW). This is supplemented by facilities near without long transmission lines so it can be
the German border in Luxembourg and Austria that provide provided as needed.
flexibility for the German energy system. Depending on
their design, they contain much higher energy volumes and

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BATTERIES IN THE WORLD 1

Pumped storage: Sprinter and power athlete A study by RWTH Aachen University for Voith Hydro
From zero to one hundred in 90 seconds: This is how concludes that absolute forecast errors – despite
long it takes for modern pumped storage systems to improved prediction models – will increase to 2.5
ramp up to their full power of up to 1,000 megawatts times the 2012 value in 2033 [2]. This means that
available to the electricity system after a standstill. in numerous situations in Germany, there will be a
In a partial load operation, it even takes only a few significant short-term deviation of several gigawatts
seconds. It barely takes any longer to switch from in the actual renewable generation compared to the
full pumping mode to full turbine mode. The speed expected one, which will have to be compensated by
and efficiency of pumped storage systems make the flexible systems such as energy storage facilities.
rapid changes in renewable generation manageable
and offer an option for replacing fossil fuel power
plants. The German Federal Network Agency expects Pumped storage: Life insurance for the energy system
that the challenges caused by load cycles will To keep the grids stable even in times of volatile re-
drastically increase in the coming years. It estimates newables, many different capabilities are called for. The
that in 2025, there will be about 420 events in which indispensable grid helpers are grouped under the key-
output changes of at least 20 gigawatts need to be word “ancillary services”. They run in the background
managed. According to the Federal Network Agency, of the grid operation, monitor it and balance the grids.
output changes of at least 30 gigawatts will also
happen daily [1]. The increasing absolute forecast Until now, large-scale ancillary services were provided
errors for the feed-in of renewable energies in the by coal, gas or nuclear power plants. In the future, these
course of further wind and PV systems expansions tasks must be handled in a renewable way. Pumped
are another challenge. storage systems are so flexible that in addition to
providing renewable energies as needed, they can
provide these tasks for our electricity systems.

A high wind power production of over 9,300 The electricity supply in Europe and especially in Germany
megawatts continues to occur in the transmission is distinguished by its security of supply. But still, our
network of the grid operator 50Hertz. On March energy system is not exempt from large-scale disrup-
28, 2012, however, a malfunction caused the tions. On January 8, 2021, Europe’s electricity grid was
failure of the 380 kV Wolmirstedt-Helmstedt on the verge of collapse. Outages in power generated in
line. Since there was an unplanned shutdown Romania led to a shortfall in the grid. Then the south-
of a major power plant at the same time, the eastern European grid was disconnected from the rest
north-south power lines were abruptly over- of the grid and only resynchronized after an hour. As
loaded and posed the risk of a blackout. The a result, the system was successfully stabilized again
Markersbach and Goldisthal pumped storage in this case. Calculated for Germany, each hour of a
systems switched from turbine (2,400 MW) to complete power blackout would cost between 200 and
pump operation (1,400 MW) within minutes. This 600 million euros, depending on the time of day [3].
immediately relieved the power grids; they were During disruptions and even in the event of a blackout,
able to stabilize, and a blackout was averted. pumped storage systems can reestablish the grid and
restart the energy system thanks to their black start
ability. This is just one of many ancillary services that
pumped storage can provide for the energy system.

Pumped storage: Innovative and smart into the future

Pumped storage systems are based on proven, robust
and reliable technology. At the same time, there is
still a lot of potential for development – not only to
keep pace with the far-reaching transformation of the
energy system but also to play a key role in enabling it
in the first place. Germany is predestined to leverage
this development potential since it can draw on many
years of experience with the technology, while it is also
a base for technological developments of turbines and
power electronics.

2 BVES E.V.
Technical progress and innovations
Variable-speed machines are an example of these devel-
opments. They can be used to individually and contin-
uously adjust not only the power production in turbine
operation but also the pumping power to the current
demand. This makes it possible to take electricity from
the grid very flexibly as soon as short-term surpluses
arise. They are the optimal complement for the integration
of fluctuating renewable energies. In the next development
step, digitalization plays an important role. It will increase
flexibility and further reduce costs. In doing this, direct
combinations of pumped storage systems with renewable
energies are moving center stage.

Vattenfall has built two solar parks with a power of nearly

seven megawatts on the upper basins of the pumped
storage facilities at Markersbach and Geesthacht. Digital
combinations of various storage technologies (pumped
storage with batteries or chemical storage) are also in
the planning stage. In May 2018, ENGIE Deutschland
already added a battery storage facility with a power of
12 megawatts to the existing pumped storage facility
on the Pfreimd River. By pooling both plants, ENGIE is
optimizing the provision of fast balancing energy.

The fact that the world of hydropower is in fundamental

harmony with chemical storage is demonstrated by
Energiedienstholding with its NaturEnergie hydropower
plants on the High Rhine, where hydrogen is produced
in Wyhlen as part of a research project. The waste heat
generated during the electrolysis is used for the heating
supply of the adjacent residential area.

At the Naturspeicher Gaildorf storage facility near Stuttgart,

the Max Bögl Group is combining wind turbines with
pumped storage. Here the base of the wind turbines is
used as the “upper basin” (see image 1); the tower
foundation can be filled with water up to a height of 31
meters. The storage capacity of the four wind turbines
is about 70 megawatt hours. The powerhouse is in the
valley of the Kocher River. A flood basin that was planned
in any case serves as the lower basin. The power of the
pumped storage facility is 16 MW.

Specific research projects address the use of unconven-

tional sites: Former underground mines, pumped storage
offshore near coasts, artificial lagoons and more.

Top to bottom:
Naturspeicher Gaildorf, concept for pumped
storage PSKW Rio, PV-plant/ pumped storage
Markersbach, battery storage and pumped
storage Pfreimd

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BATTERIES IN THE WORLD 3

Pumped Storage:

WHAT THESE VERSATILE

TALENTS CAN DO
FOR SYSTEM STABILITY

BLACK START ABILITY

In case of a blackout, pumped storage systems can also be put into operation without external power
supplies, thus enabling recovery of the grid. Conventional power plants need a lot of energy from the grid to
restart production after a blackout. Pumped storage thus plays a fundamental role in recovering the
grid, by creating functioning subgrids that are incrementally reconnected into larger grid areas. They can
also be relied on in an emergency case.

ROTATING INERTIA
Large rotating masses reliably balance out minor fluctuations in grid frequency. These are created by im-
balances whose causes lie in unpredictable minor deviations from the forecasts regarding generation and
consumption. In the past, this did not seem particularly volatile because nearly all generating plants were
equipped with synchronous machines. The decommissioning of conventional power plants and strong
addition of wind and PV facilities has led to the installation of more and more generating plants without this
kind of kinetic buffer. As a result, the total rotating inertia for the electrical grid is reduced. Pumped storage
can provide this rotating inertia function.

FREQUENCY STABILITY
The AC (alternating current) grids in Europe are operated with a frequency of 50 Hertz. The fluctuations of
this frequency must stay within narrow bandwidths, otherwise, there is a risk of grid disruptions, including
large-scale blackouts in extreme cases. Production and demand of electricity must always be in balance
to preserve frequency stability. Grid operators compensate for unforeseen deviations by balancing energy.
Various products are available for this, e.g. primary regulation, secondary regulation and minute reserve.
They differ in terms of the speed at which they are available and the duration they must cover. All of these
can be provided by pumped storage.

VOLTAGE STABILITY
To reliably transport electrical energy, the grids must be kept in a specific voltage range. Depending on the
grid level, it differs between transmission networks, the regional and the local networks. Voltage fluctuations
can result in severe damage to electrical devices and machines. Maintaining the voltage at a constant level
is a demanding task. This is because the load flows in the grids change quickly and with large swings due
to the volatile feed and consumption of the renewables and the growing international electricity trade.

REACTIVE POWER CONTROL

This refers to power that is needed to build up electric fields without contributing to usable output. Reactive
power is an indispensable element in voltage stability. Pumped storage systems can provide reactive power
very flexibly in addition to the active power generation and absorption, in pumping as well as in turbine
operation. There is also the option of synchronous condenser operation mode, a type of operation exclusively
for the supply of reactive power and inertia reserve by means of the rotating masses.

4 BVES E.V.
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BATTERIES IN THE WORLD 5
Pumped storage: Cutting-edge technology made Utilizing our technology developments and demonstrating
in Germany the flexibility of modern pumped storage systems on
Germany is the technology leader for turbines and digi- site would not only be an added value for our energy
tal design of local plants. With Andritz Hydro and Voith system, it would also set an important signal to the
Hydro, two world leaders in hydropower and pumped booming world market. Germany should not miss
storage are at home in Germany. Both maintain pro- this opportunity, because many things would also be
duction facilities in Germany – with many hundreds of possible and useful on the domestic market.
employees and research facilities. A sustainable market
for the construction and maintenance of pumped Baden-Wuerttemberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Thuringia
storage facilities in Germany is an important calling and Bavaria each investigated the potential for expanding
card for success in the global market, which makes it pumped storage systems in their states. Sufficient sites
significant for the long-term preservation of Germany for new facilities are available in Germany as well as
as a production site. the entire DAICH region. Vattenfall Wasserkraft is now

NEW CONSTRUCTION POTENTIAL FOR PUMPED STORAGE [4]

Country / State Number of potential sites Installed power [GW] Installed capacity [GWh]

Germany:
Baden-Wuerttemberg > 13 > 19 n. a.
Bavaria 16 11 66
Lower Saxony 83 19.6 98.2
North Rhine-Westphalia 27 9.4 56
Thuringia 13 5.5 44

Austria n. a. 6 GW (planned) n. a.

Italy > 300 n. a. > 1,800

Switzerland 15 (Storage hydropower n. a. 2,000

projects)

EU-wide > 2,400 n. a. > 12,000

6 BVES E.V.
TOTAL OUTPUT FROM NEW CONSTRUCTION IN MW (02 / 2022)

100,000 33,660

10,000
2,745 2,290 2,204
1,020 880
1,000 506 350 250
100

10

People‘s Austria Australia India Switzerland Portugal Israel Morocco United Arab
Republic of Emirates
China

considering the construction of a new pumped storage today should be commonplace in the future. However,
facility Leutenberg/Probstzella, Thuringia, Germany the country’s connection to the European power grid is
with installed power of 400 MW. This could in the future in poor shape. To balance and integrate renewables into
become a valuable element in the stabilization and the electricity system, Portugal is relying on pumped
decarbonization of our energy system by providing the storage. In March 2017, Voith Hydro (Heidenheim)
necessary flexibility. commissioned Frades II, the most modern pumped
storage facility up to that date – due to its variable-
speed operation – in northwestern Portugal. More
Pumped storage: Globally needed facilities are on the way. The second global market leader
With the rapid worldwide expansion of wind power and with production facilities in Germany – Andritz Hydro
solar energy, the global demand for pumped storage (Ravensburg) – also received orders in Portugal, such
is also growing. In China alone, a total of 23 pumped as for the construction of the Gouvães pumped storage
storage facilities with a total capacity of 33.7 GW were facility near Porto and for the Foz Tua project.
ordered between 2015 and 2021. The International Energy
Agency IEA is projecting the strongest decade of growth
Spain
in history for pumped storage on international markets
The small Canary Island El Hierro, which has barely 10,000
in the years up to 2030. According to this prediction,
residents, leads the charge: Away from diesel generators
another 65 GW of pumped storage will be realized
to wind energy. A small pumped storage facility with
worldwide [5]. The storage capacity from new projects
11.3 MW helps supply a seawater desalination plant and
is expected to increase by 7 percent to 9 TWh (terawatt
contributes at times when there is no wind.
hours) by the end of the decade. When combined with
the further development of existing plants (+ 3.3 TWh),
pumped storage, ahead of battery storage, remains the Australia
most important storage technology by far. In the Kidston hybrid project in Queensland, solar energy
will be combined with a pumped storage facility from
Andritz in a former gold mine. A 50 MW solar energy
Best practice examples of pumped storage worldwide system was built in the first construction stage. A
second construction stage will complete a second solar
Portugal power plant with a capacity of 270 MW and a 250 MW
In March 2018, Portugal was able to cover 100 percent pumped storage facility. This will make it possible to
of its electricity needs for several days with wind and supply about 170,000 households in Queensland reliably,
hydropower for the first time. What is still an exception securely and as needed with electricity from photovoltaics.

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BATTERIES IN THE WORLD 7

In 2019, Voith Hydro received the order to supply the of the facilities to the system must be given greater
electromechanical equipment for the Snowy 2.0 pumped consideration. A uniform approval process under energy
storage facility. This is a pumped storage system with law is needed: One that is leaner and faster but not
an output of 2 GW and 350 GWh of storage capacity. weaker when it comes to protecting the environment
Three variable-speed units will be installed in addition to and nature.
three fixed-speed units. The upper and lower basins are
existing reservoirs and when the pumped storage facility Implementation of the energy storage definition: To
is completed, their large volumes could make numerous enable upgrades of the storage systems, an appropriate,
existing and future wind and solar farms nearly baseload independent regulatory system must be established.
capable. Now that there is a storage definition established in
Germany, analogue to the definition in the European
Electricity Market Design Directive, concrete conclusions
Pumped storage: Sprinters with political handicaps must be drawn from this within the planned storage
Even the best sprinters won’t win any races if they are strategy by the federal government. Due to their role as
put in chains. However, figuratively speaking, this is the a temporal shift of energy consumption, energy storage
political situation for pumped storage in Germany. must be considered differently from generation and
consumption and market entry must not be impeded. An
Planning and approval processes: Under the current unlimited exemption from network charges would make
planning and approval law, the new construction and sense since there is an undeniable benefit for network
expansion of pumped storage facilities is almost stability.
unfeasible. Projects that were still planned in 2016 with
a total output of 4.4 GW and storage capacity of Remuneration of system services: The need for system
40.6 GWh have mostly been discontinued since then. services is increasing in conjunction with the energy
The inclusion of environmental and water laws along transition. Pumped storage systems are ideally positioned
with countless other permit law requirements is delaying to provide these. To ensure that what the system needs
the approval of these projects by up to ten years and tomorrow can be provided, it must be remunerated
already costing high amounts in the millions. At the accordingly. A fair and clear market regulation is needed
same time, no legal or investment security is provided. for the provision and remuneration of these services.
The multilayered processes and complexities are A transparent system and clear remuneration benefit
pushing permit authorities to their limits. The relevance the entire power supply system.

Pumped storage is currently the large-scale

storage technology that is proven on a long-term
basis, reliable and still cost-efficient, offering high
market potential. The first systems have now
been in operation for nearly 100 years. The long
service life of the facilities is an advantage not
only from a cost perspective but also considering
the use of resources. With their new role in the
necessary development towards a stable green
future, they are becoming multi-talents for system
stability and security of supply. As a partner to
renewable energies, pumped storage opens the
door to a stable, green energy future around the
clock. This applies to the existing facilities as
much as to possible new constructions, for which
there is great potential. Policymakers are called
on to provide a fitted regulatory framework for
energy storage including pumped storage for a
successful energy transition and a more indepen-
dent energy system.

8 BVES E.V.
 UNITS, DEFINITIONS AND ABBREVIATIONS

Megawatt (MW) = 1,000 kilowatt (kW)

Gigawatt (GW) = 1000 MW = 1,000,000 kW
Terawatt (TW) = 1,000 GW = 1,000,000 MW = 1,000,000,000 kW

Storage capacity = maximum amount of energy that can be

stored with a full charge, unit: MWh

Nominal power = maximum power that can be provided during

proper operation without time restriction and without impairing
the service life and security, unit: MW, GW, TW (see above)

Imprint

Publisher
Bundesverband Energiespeicher Systeme e.V.
Energy Storage Systems Association
Oranienburger Str. 15 | 10178 Berlin
T. +49 30 54610 630
[email protected] | bves.de

Design and Production

BVES – German Energy Storage Systems Association e.V.

References
[1] Flexibility in the power supply system, Federal Network Agency
(BNetzA), April 2017
[2] Die Energiewende erfolgreich gestalten: Mit Pumpspeicherkraftwerken, Moser, RWTH
Aachen, Voith Hydro GmbH & Co. KG
[3] Cf. Piaszeck et. al, Regional Diversity in the Costs of Electricity Outages: Results for
German Counties, HWWI 2013
[4] Schneider et al. 2022, Pumped storage power plants – benefits, potentials and indi-
cations for further expansion, Correspondence Water Management 2022 (15) No. 12,
DWA German Association for Water, Wastewater and Waste.
[5] IEA 2021, Hydropower Special Market Report

Image Credits
Cover page: Voith Hydro | Page 3 (from top to bottom): Naturspeicher Gaildorf – Max Bögl
Wind AG, Concept for pumped storage PSKW Rio – SWT Stadtwerke Trier Versorgungs-
GmbH, PV-plant/ pumped storage Markersbach – Vattenfall GmbH, Battery storage and
pumped storage Pfreimd – ENGIE Deutschland GmbH

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April 2023
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