Both the state and customers will benefit from battery storage, says Martin Pich
Battery storage is rapidly becoming a key component of the modern energy sector. It is not just about the technology, but also a new way of generating revenue from flexibility whilst stabilising the grid. Martin Pich, Director of the Trading Division at MND, explains exactly how this business works in practice.
Battery storage is a new area of business that MND is venturing into. However, the state and end-users of energy will also benefit from this – but how?
For the state, or rather for the electricity grid, batteries help to balance out fluctuations between generation and consumption. This reduces grid management costs whilst increasing its capacity, which can bring cheaper electricity from abroad into the Czech Republic.
For customers, this means downward pressure on prices in the long term, as batteries enable better use of cheap energy from renewable sources at times when electricity is expensive.
How will MND utilise the battery storage facility in Břeclav?
As with other projects, we will use it to provide both commercial and technical flexibility. Our aim is to monetise its operation across all market segments – from day-ahead (trading the day in advance based on planned prices) and intraday (trading during the day according to the current situation) right through to power balancing and deviation management services.
What does this mean in practice?
For example, for power balancing services, we offer the battery’s capacity to the transmission system operator ČEPS. In the future, we expect similar services to develop at the distribution level as well, whether in the form of dynamic tariffs or traditional ancillary services. In addition, we also use the battery on the wholesale market.
There is a lot of talk about algorithmic trading – how does it work with batteries?
In practice, this involves collecting and analysing large amounts of data from across Europe. Based on this data, we generate price forecasts and decide when to charge the battery and when, conversely, to sell energy. This process runs continuously – every 15 minutes, the battery receives instructions on how to operate.
Is this something you’ve already tried out with the Flexibility in Retail service?
Yes. We use our algorithmic models, which utilise modern AI technology, not only for flexible generation sources but also for trading on European markets. So we’ve tested them in practice. We deploy them for battery storage, photovoltaic systems and combined heat and power units, whilst also offering them to third parties.
How does this differ from domestic batteries?
The principle is similar, but large standalone batteries offer significantly greater flexibility. They are primarily governed by market demand and the technical parameters of the grid, whereas with domestic batteries, the consumption of the specific household plays the main role.
MND plans to build further storage facilities in the Czech Republic and abroad – will you manage them in the same way?
The basic principles remain the same. The only difference is in the configuration of the algorithms according to the specific market, particularly in the area of ancillary services.
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