Hitachi Energy – Hitachi Energy acquires eks Energy

EMR Analysis

More information on Hitachi Energy: See the full profile on EMR Executive Services

More information on Claudio Facchin (Chief Executive Officer, Hitachi Energy): See the full profile on EMR Executive Services

More information on Massimo Danieli (Executive Vice President and Managing Director Grid Automation Business Unit, Hitachi Energy): See the full profile on EMR Executive Services

More information on the 2030 Strategic Growth Plan by Hitachi Energy: https://www.hitachienergy.com/about-us/hitachi-energy-2030-plan + To deliver a sustainable energy future for all, we must pursue three imperatives

1. STRENGTHEN the power system making it more reliable and secure
2. EXPAND the power system’s reach and scalability
3. EVOLVE the power system making it more sustainable and resilient

More information on eks Energy by Hitachi Energy: https://eksenergy.com/en/en-2/ + We design, build and commission own HW and SW solutions for the integration of renewable power plant and ESS, ensuring the success and profitability of our clients’ projects.

After 20 years of operation under the GPTech brand,  eks Energy aims to play a key role, at a global level, in the energy transformation necessary to create a future that is respectful of the environment and fair in the distribution of energy resources.

eks Energy stands out for its strong commitment to the transformative capacity of talented people with a determined will to work towards meeting these objectives.

eks Energy joined the POWIN group in July of 2022.

More information on Powin LLC: https://powin.com/ + Headquartered in Oregon, Powin was founded in 1989 as a high-quality, high-volume contract manufacturing company with a large supplier network and relationship base in Asia and North America. Before most people saw the enormous market potential of large-scale battery storage, Powin was already utilizing its global battery supply chain relationships to deliver high quality solutions with market-leading value. The company evolved by marrying its robust supply chain management with technology designed in the US and a vital social mission.

We own or manage every step in our supply chain. From sourcing battery cells to the on-site installation of projects, we leverage our domain expertise to provide the highest-value, cost-competitive energy storage solutions to our customers. Our energy storage systems are used in utility-scale, commercial and industrial, and microgrid applications.

To date, Powin has deployed over 3,200 MWh of battery systems worldwide with 11,900 MWh under construction.

More information on Jeff Waters (Chief Executive Officer, Powin LLC): https://powin.com/company/ + https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-waters-1064577/ 

More information on the Waratah Super Battery (WSB): https://www.energyco.nsw.gov.au/projects/waratah-super-battery + 

To ensure NSW continues to have reliable energy supply following the anticipated closure of the Eraring Power Station in 2025, the NSW Government is delivering the Waratah Super Battery (WSB) project. The WSB project is a System Integrity Protection Scheme (SIPS) designed to act as a ‘shock absorber’ in the event of any sudden power surges, including from bush fires or lightning strikes.

WSB project components:

• A SIPS Service provided by a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) located at the former Munmorah coal-fired power station that is capable of providing a guaranteed continuous active power capacity of at least 700 MW and a guaranteed useable energy storage capacity of at least 1400 MWh.
• Paired Generation Services provided by multiple generators across NSW that are capable of providing technical services to support the SIPS.
• Network Augmentations and SIPS Control provided by Transgrid in its role as Network Operator that includes the SCADA, telecommunications, minor augmentations and control scheme equipment required to operate the SIPS.

The WSB project provides a virtual transmission solution that unlocks latent capacity in the existing transmission system, allowing electricity consumers in the Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong demand centres to access more energy from existing generators.

EMR Additional Notes: 

• Energy Storage System (ESS):
  • An energy storage system, often abbreviated as ESS, is a device or group of devices assembled together, capable of storing energy in order to supply electrical energy at a later time. Battery ESS are the most common type of new installation and are the focus of our free fact sheet.
• Battery Energy Storage System (BESS):
  • A BESS is an energy storage system (ESS) that captures energy from different sources, accumulates this energy, and stores it in rechargeable batteries for later use.

• Grid, Microgrids and DERs:
  • The power grid is a network for delivering electricity to consumers. The power grid includes generator stations, transmission lines and towers, and individual consumer distribution lines.
  • The grid constantly balances the supply and demand for the energy that powers everything from industry to household appliances.
  • Electric grids perform three major functions: power generation, transmission, and distribution.
  • A microgrid is a small-scale power grid that can operate independently or collaboratively with other small power grids. The practice of using microgrids is known as distributed, dispersed, decentralized, district or embedded energy production.
  • Smart Grid is any electrical grid + IT at all levels . Micro Grid is a group of interconnected loads and DERs (Distributed energy resources) within a clearly defined electrical and geographical boundaries witch acts as a single controllable entity with respect to the main grid.
  • Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) are small-scale electricity supply (typically in the range of 3 kW to 50 MW) or demand resources that are interconnected to the electric grid. They are power generation resources and are usually located close to load centers, and can be used individually or in aggregate to provide value to the grid.
  • Common examples of DERs include rooftop solar PV units, natural gas turbines, microturbines, wind turbines, biomass generators, fuel cells, tri-generation units, battery storage, electric vehicles (EV) and EV chargers, and demand response applications.
  • Distributed Energy Resources Management systems (DERMS) are platforms which helps mostly distribution system operators (DSO) manage their grids that are mainly based on Distributed Energy Resources (DER).
  • DERMS are used by utilities and other energy companies to aggregate a large energy load for participation in the demand response market. DERMS can be defined in many ways, depending on the use case and underlying energy asset.

• System Integrator:
  • A systems integrator is an individual or business that builds computing systems for clients by combining hardware, software, networking and storage products from multiple vendors. Using a systems integrator, a company can align cheaper, preconfigured components and commercial off-the-shelf software to meet key business goals, as opposed to more expensive, customized implementations that may require original programming or manufacturing unique components.
  • Hiring a systems integrator to combine various subsystems into an integrated offering can also simplify contracting and vendor management for the customer, who would otherwise need to purchase each subsystem separately and work with multiple vendors. Systems integration is, thus, both a procurement method and a technical activity.