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On Friday the largest European energy storage system using second-life and new electric vehicle batteries in a commercial building was made live. Amsterdam Alderman Udo Kock, deputy mayor for Finance and Economic Affairs (Amsterdam) conducted the official opening ceremony.
The stadium of the Dutch club AFC Ajax informed the media in a press release about the system. This project is the result of collaboration between Nissan, Eaton, BAM, The Mobility House and the Johan Cruijff ArenA, supported by the Amsterdam Climate and Energy Fund (AKEF) and Interreg. The 3 megawatt storage system provides a more reliable and efficient energy supply and usage for the stadium, its visitors, neighbors and the Dutch energy grid. Combining Eaton power conversion units and the equivalent of 148 Nissan LEAF batteries, the energy storage system not only enables a more sustainable energy system, it also creates a circular economy for electric vehicle batteries.
“Thanks to this energy storage system, the stadium will be able to use its own sustainable energy more intelligently and, as Amsterdam Energy ArenA BV, it can trade in the batteries’ available storage capacity.” says Henk van Raan, director of innovation at the Johan Cruijff ArenA. “The ArenA is assured of a considerable amount of power, even during an outage. As a result, the stadium will contribute to a stable Dutch energy grid. The Johan Cruijff ArenA is one of the most sustainable stadiums in the world and leads the way in introducing smart innovations like this unique energy storage system.”
Flexible storage capacity
The energy storage system plays an important role in balancing supply and demand of energy in the Johan Cruijff ArenA. The storage system has a total capacity of 3 megawatt, enough to power several thousand households. This capacity also means that the energy produced by the 4,200 solar panels on the roof of the ArenA can also be stored and used optimally. The energy storage system will provide back-up power, reducing the use of diesel generators, and provide relief to the energy grid by flattening the peaks that occur during concerts.
The stadium’s new energy storage system and related company, Amsterdam Energy ArenA BV, are concrete results of the innovation program managed by Amsterdam Innovation Arena, in which knowledge institutions, governments and companies such as BAM, Nissan, Eaton and The Mobility House are working on the stadium of the future. (Stadiaworld, 02.07.2018)
