Lower Energy Costs, Greater Reliability: NaREsys Builds on Networked Micro-Battery Storage Systems for Energy Suppliers and Tenants
Research Focus: Energy and Sustainability
Hamburg/Karlsruhe. Millions of people living in apartment buildings have so far benefited very little from the opportunities presented by the energy transition. The research project NaREsys (National Resilience for the Energy System), led by Professor Dr. Stefan Dickmann of Helmut Schmidt University / University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg (HSU / UniBw H), now aims to demonstrate how this largely untapped customer segment can be integrated into the future energy landscape. For citizens, this opens up the prospect of lower energy costs, greater security of supply, and greater participation in the energy transition. NaREsys is based on a network of micro-battery storage systems that are intelligently interconnected and centrally controlled. For energy suppliers, this will create new opportunities for marketing flexibility, optimized energy trading, dynamic rate models, and other energy-related applications. Grid operators can use these distributed battery storage systems to gain a new means of enhancing grid stability.
In Germany alone, over 22 million households live in apartment buildings. Solutions that combine rooftop solar panels with stationary battery storage systems, for example, are targeted at owners of single-family homes. Until now, suitable options have been lacking for renters in apartment buildings without their own power generation systems. Storage systems for self-consumption have not yet been cost-effective, and their flexibility has not been fully utilized. This is exactly where NaREsys comes in: This research project is testing plug-and-play-compatible micro-battery storage systems with a capacity of around two kilowatt-hours. These systems can be installed in apartments in multi-family buildings without requiring structural modifications or installation work, and can be linked together to form a smart storage swarm. In the future, energy providers will be able to control these storage swarms to meet their needs.
New potential and greater flexibility for energy providers
The storage network is intended to create additional revenue streams for energy providers. The many decentralized individual storage units can be flexibly deployed for various applications and are coordinated in real time. Automated control of charging and discharging enables energy providers to trade flexibly on various energy markets and generate revenue.
To optimize energy management, the system processes price signals from the electricity market, grid status information, measurement data from individual storage units, and load and generation forecasts. The result is more flexibility with automatically optimized schedules for procurement and marketing. Utility companies can then pass on the added value from optimized trading to their customers through attractive, dynamic electricity rates.
Grid-friendly flexibility for grid operators
Intelligently networked storage systems are not only of great interest from an economic perspective. With centrally controlled swarm storage, grid operators gain a new tool to leverage decentralized flexibility in a targeted manner for grid operations. Grid congestion and peak loads in the low-voltage grid can be mitigated, load flows optimized, and the integration of renewable energy sources for the energy transition facilitated. The storage swarm thus has great potential to contribute to secure, efficient, and stable grid operation. This allows time for an orderly grid expansion.
Dual-Use for the resilience of the energy system
In addition, NaREsys is pursuing a dual-use approach: the storage systems are also intended to perform security functions. In the event of power outages, for example, they can supply power to small devices such as cell phones or radios. Thanks to its distributed architecture, the system remains operational even without a permanent connection to a central control center. An electromagnetically optimized design and robust electronics further increase the efficiency and reliability of the storage systems—and thus the resilience of the energy system.
FZI develops intelligent algorithms and validates secure system architectures
The FZI Research Center for Information Technology is contributing its many years of expertise in smart energy systems, Artificial Intelligence, and cybersecurity to the project, which is funded with 13 million euros in federal grants. The researchers are developing algorithms that coordinate the optimal use of storage systems in a swarm and balance various objectives such as cost-effectiveness, grid stability, and resilience.
In addition, the FZI evaluates the security architecture of the entire system to ensure it is secure. As energy storage systems are set to become part of critical energy infrastructure, NaREsys relies on modern zero-trust concepts, hardened edge nodes, endpoint protection, sealed cloud technologies, and methods for detecting anomalies in network traffic.
As part of the integration of small-scale battery storage systems, adjustments to the regulatory framework will likely be necessary, particularly regarding the 4.2 kW threshold for grid fee reductions under Section 14a of the Energy Industry Act (EnWG). To this end, the FZI can share insights from the project with committees such as the VDE FNN to ensure the further development of the regulatory framework.
Real-world lab prepares for scaling up
To put the research project’s findings into practice, a pilot project is being conducted in a real-world laboratory in Borna, Saxony. The entire process, from installation and connection to operation, is being tested with over 100 battery storage systems under real-world market and grid conditions. Additional test sites, including those in other cities, will also be established during the project. The aim is to demonstrate energy trading from these storage systems on the continuous intraday market, test billing energy quantities to suppliers and consumers, and examine the effects on the local power grid. This will enable the findings to be implemented in practice and pave the way for future expansion.
A wide variety of partners from the energy sector, academia, and industry have come together in the NaREsys project
The Helmut Schmidt University / University of the German Armed Forces in Hamburg serves as the consortium leader for the NaREsys research project, led by Prof. Dr. Stefan Dickmann, on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Defense. It contributes expertise in energy system integration, grid stability, power electronics, and sensor technology to the project, which runs through February 2029.
The FZI Research Center for Information Technology is developing intelligent algorithms for optimal swarm coordination and is responsible for verifying the security architecture of the overall system. Navimatix is developing the platform and the interfaces for grid-optimized control. InnoCharge is responsible for the energy-economic optimization of the storage systems as well as their use in procurement and marketing. exnaton handles tariff structuring, billing, and the business model to be developed, while ExaMesh is responsible for the development of storage systems, edge computing, and IoT operations. Becker Büttner Held, a law firm specializing in the energy sector, and the IT security provider DriveLock are also making significant contributions. Städtische Werke Borna operates the project’s real-world laboratory.
About the FZI
The FZI Research Center for Information Technology, with headquarters in Karlsruhe and a branch office in Berlin, is a non-profit institution for information technology application research and technology transfer. It delivers the latest scientific findings in information technology to companies and public institutions and qualifies individuals for academic and business careers or the leap into self-employment. Supervised by professors from various faculties, the research groups at the FZI develop interdisciplinary concepts, software, hardware, and system solutions for their clients and implement the solutions found as prototypes. The FZI House of Living Labs provides a unique research environment for application research. The FZI is an innovation partner of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and strategic partner of the German Informatics Society (GI).
Press contact
Julia Böhme
Press Officer
Helmut Schmidt University /
University of the German Armed Forces in Hamburg
- +49 40 6541-3566
- pressestelle@hsu.hamburg
- Hamburg
Press contact
Tatjana Rauch
Communications
FZI Research Center for Information Technology
- +49 721 9654-943
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