MND is entering the battery energy sector
MND is expanding its activities into a new energy sector – and doing so in grand style. In Břeclav, it has commissioned a 31 MWh battery storage facility, which is currently the largest stand-alone facility of its kind in the Czech Republic. The project, costing around a quarter of a billion crowns, is intended to help stabilise the electricity grid and further develop the electricity trading market.
MND is entering a new segment of the modern energy sector – energy storage – with a project that is unprecedented in the Czech Republic. On the outskirts of Břeclav, it has commissioned a battery storage facility with a capacity of 12 MW and 31 MWh.
The project, preparations for which began in 2023, represents an investment of nearly a quarter of a billion crowns. MND carried it out without any subsidy support. For the company, this marks a further step in its diversification towards low-emission energy.
“The battery storage facility in Břeclav is the first of seven projects that we are gradually bringing into operation this year. It is a significant investment in technology that will play an increasingly important role in the modern energy sector,” said Jana Hamršmídová, Director of MND’s Energy Division.
The battery storage facility plays a vital role in managing the electricity system. It enables electricity to be stored when there is a surplus and, conversely, fed back into the grid during periods of increased consumption. In this way, it helps to balance fluctuations between generation and consumption.
In addition, the storage facility also opens up new commercial opportunities. MND uses it for electricity trading and to provide ancillary services to the transmission system operator.
The storage facility’s operation is controlled by automated algorithms that continuously determine when to store energy and when to release it onto the market.
The facility is designed for continuous operation and has a service life of around 15 years. The battery modules are divided into several separate units that can be operated independently.
MND plans to launch further storage facilities in the Czech Republic during the course of the year. It also anticipates expanding this segment abroad in the future.
Editor-in-Chief
Other articles
Artificial intelligence is already helping in MND
In recent years, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become one of the most discussed technological phenomena. For a long time now, it has not only been discussed in the context of science fiction films or scientific research institutes. Thanks to increasingly powerful computing and the availability of data, AI technologies have seen a huge boom in recent months. AI is now making real inroads into all aspects of our lives, from work to healthcare, science, education and entertainment.
Investment opportunity: balancing the energy grid
MNDs are looking at different market segments where it would be worthwhile to invest or at least be commercially active. One of the areas that caught our attention is the market for ancillary services and the volatility of electricity prices on the so-called spot market, where the price of electricity for the following day is determined. In cooperation with the Energy & Production Division, we are working on using our own gas for electricity generation (G2P Borkovany) and on investing in battery storage.
Electricity from gas generators in Borkovany will balance the Czech power grid
MND is entering a new business that has great potential. We are finalizing the Borkovany Support Services Source (BSSS) project, the core of which is an electricity generating facility that will be used to regulate imbalances in the Czech Republic's electricity grid once it is operational.