Repono goes live to operate energy storage systems across Europe

By Team IO

Repono, a pan-European company that owns and operates large energy storage systems (ESS), goes live today. The company will accelerate and standardize the deployment of ESS across the continent, allowing for the storage of excess renewable power, leveling out energy prices, and enabling a 24/7 clean energy supply. Backed by the European Union’s energy innovation agency EIT InnoEnergy, Repono aims to capture a ten percent share of an anticipated 1-terawatt hour (TWh) European market in 2030.

To achieve its ambitions of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent by 2030, the European Commission has set minimum national targets of 42,5 percent for renewable electricity share by 2030. The increased electrification of the economy as the best way to decarbonize, combined with a growing share of renewables, will require the rapid rollout of large-scale electricity storage solutions.

Addressing the challenges

Rasmus Bergstrom, CEO of Repono, said: “Europe’s electricity system and grid were built for a steady feed-in of dispatchable energy sources, not to handle the massive influx of decentralized and intermittent renewables. Hence, Europe’s forceful shift away from coal, oil, and gas puts our longstanding energy infrastructure under immense stress, leading to frequent curtailments of cheap, clean energy to volatile and unnecessarily high prices and power outages. This puts a brake on the energy transition at large when we, as a society, have everything but the luxury of time. This is exactly where Repono steps in.”

Energy storage is as important as renewable energy. But how do we store our power then?

Batteries come in any form, shape, and, most importantly, chemistry. In the puzzle called energy systems of the future, they represent an essential piece to fully exploit the potential of renewable power and limit one of its most prominent downsides: inconsistency.

Repono directly addresses these challenges by operating in three key areas. Firstly, it will strategically manage its storage capacities via short-term spot markets. Repono will monitor market fluctuations allowing it to buy, charge, sell and discharge at the right time with the aim to shift excess production to periods of excess demand. Secondly, Repono’s balancing services will be crucial to maintaining grid stability and preventing large-scale blackouts. Lastly, by integrating energy storage into power purchase agreements (PPAs) between large independent power producers and industrial companies, Repono will help to ensure a reliable, 24/7 decarbonized electricity supply.

Diego Pavia, CEO of EIT InnoEnergy, added: “From day one, Repono will be embedded in the world’s largest sustainable energy ecosystem of 1200+ partners from industry, finance, research, and academia, have access to our 46+ investments in the energy storage sector as well as to the 800+ members of the European Battery Alliance. These unique starting conditions will greatly de-risk Repono’s business and enable the company to quickly replicate projects across Europe, doing its bit to accelerate the energy and industrial transition.”