INESC TEC, together with 23 national entities, participates in the project Baterias 2030. The project aims to promote the decarbonisation of cities through renewable energy communities, envisaging the development of cutting-edge batteries, lithium-ion battery reuse and recovery solutions for second-life applications within the energy community, as well as a set of renewable production technologies adapted to urban environments, i.e., PV modules for facades, wind systems and energy-generating pavements.

Clara Gouveia, in charge of INESC TEC's participation in Baterias 2030, explained the importance of the project: “Energy storage is essential to maximise the use of renewable energy production, since it allows storing energy during high-production periods and using it when consumption is at its highest, while favouring energy sharing among the members of the energy community.”

The project aims to establish a living laboratory in Braga's city centre (between 2022 and 2023), serving as a place for experimenting with concepts and technologies, in order to demonstrate how batteries will play a key role in the electrical networks of the future.

The Centre for Power and Energy Systems (CPES) coordinates INESC TEC's involvement in the project, namely by leading the definition of the energy management system for renewable energy communities, taking into account the current regulatory context. The management system, developed in liaison with eight partners from the consortium, focuses on the aspect of intelligence, which ensures the efficient management of all resources for the benefit of the urban renewable energy community.

“Our work focuses on the development of advanced models for new battery technologies and flexible consumption, as well as on the optimised management algorithms of the renewable energy community”, stated Clara Gouveia.

The Baterias 2030 started in July last year and brings together a consortium of 14 companies and nine national research centres, led by dst solar. The project's entities allocated €8.3M to this project, which will continue until June 2023.