With the quiet, fully electric and locally emission-free eCitaro urban bus, cities and urban areas are becoming a better place to live. At Daimler Buses, looking after the environment and being sparing with resources are inextricably linked. This is why Daimler Buses has partnered with the GUW+ model project: in a new rectifier substation operated by ÜSTRA Hannoversche Verkehrsbetriebe AG, a stationary energy storage unit has been implemented which uses battery systems previously installed in fully electric eCitaro urban buses. The development and implementation of the 2nd-life use batteries is being handled by Mercedes-Benz Energy GmbH in Kamenz (Saxony).
Mercedes-Benz Energy GmbH, subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz AG and international supplier of automotive energy storage systems, and international technology group ANDRITZ, one of the globally leading suppliers of electro-mechanical equipment and services for hydropower stations, have signed a cooperation agreement to supply modern hybrid energy solutions for the hydropower market based on stationary energy storage systems.
Like digitisation, sustainability is viewed and implemented on a comprehensive basis in Factory 56. As well as environmentally compatible, resource-conserving production, this also includes social responsibility, always with due regard for cost-effectiveness. Factory 56 is therefore making a major contribution to achieving the company’s sustainability goals.
Conserving resources and reducing energy consumption are the cornerstones of this approach. Factory 56 is operating on a CO₂-neutral basis right from the start and will be thus a zero-carbon factory. All in all, the total energy requirement of Factory 56 is 25 percent lower than that of other assembly facilities. On the roof of Factory 56 is a photovoltaic system which supplies the building with self-generated, green electric power. This is enough to cover about 30 percent of the annual power requirements of Factory 56. Some of this power flows into an innovative direct-current network, which will improve the energy efficiency of the assembly shop in the future. It powers technical systems such as ventilation units, for example. A stationary energy bank based on vehicle batteries is also connected to the DC network. With an overall capacity of 1,400 kWh, it acts as a buffer for excess solar power from the photovoltaic system.
Mercedes‑Benz AG with its wholly owned subsidiary Mercedes-Benz Energy GmbH and Beijing Electric Vehicle Co., Ltd. (BJEV), a subsidiary of the BAIC Group, have entered into a development partnership, intending to establish 2nd-life energy storage systems in China in the future. The partnership will see a consolidation of expertise and resources regarding the value chain of automotive battery systems, while laying the groundwork for a sustainable renewable energy development. Together, Mercedes-Benz Energy and Beijing Electric Vehicle plan to set up the first 2nd-life energy storage unit in Beijing, making use of retired BJEV electric car batteries. This project will serve as the basis for other types of cooperation in the future.
Transmission system operator TenneT and Mercedes‑Benz AG through its wholly owned subsidiary Mercedes-Benz Energy GmbH have researched and tested the feasibility of innovative system services in the transmission grid as part of a joint development partnership. The results are groundbreaking: automobile battery storage systems can take over tasks from large-scale power plants and make a significant contribution towards power grid stabilisation and system recovery.
Partners Mercedes‑Benz AG – via its wholly owned subsidiary Mercedes-Benz Energy GmbH – and enercity (Stadtwerke Hannover AG) have commissioned one of the largest battery storage systems in Europe after about a one-year construction phase. The innovative storage system serves a particular purpose: it is a “living spare parts store” for electromotive battery systems. A total of 3,240 battery modules have been reserved for the third-generation smart electric-drive vehicle fleet. 1,800 of these have been combined into a stationary storage system at enercity’s Herrenhausen site and prequalified by the competent transmission system operator (TSO) TenneT for providing primary operating reserves (POR). The system is currently providing 5 MW of power to the energy market. The whole system has a total storage capacity of 17.4 MWh.
Honoured guests at the ceremony were Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel and Stanislaw Tillich (Prime Minister of the Free State of Saxony), who joined Dieter Zetsche (former Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars), Markus Schäfer (Member of the Divisional Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Cars, Production and Supply Chain), Frank Deiß (Head of Production Powertrain and Site Manager Mercedes-Benz Untertürkheim plant) and Frank Blome (Managing Director of Deutsche ACCUMOTIVE GmbH & Co. KG) in anchoring the housing of a vehicle battery as a foundation stone. This plant in the Saxon city of Kamenz will produce vehicle batteries as well as Mercedes-Benz Energy Storage systems.
From Kamenz to the world. The construction phase for a second battery plant at wholly owned Daimler subsidiary ACCUMOTIVE is done at the Kamenz site, representing another consistent step toward electric mobility. One of the largest and most modern battery plants in Europe is built with an investment of around 500 million euros.