How the Blue Battery works
Soon everything will be electric and power will increasingly be obtained from variable sources such as sun and wind. That’s why we need gigantic batteries to stabilise the power grid.
This is the idea that inspired the Maastricht entrepreneur Dr Jan Huynen (86) to get a PhD. More than 30 years ago, Huynen was involved in Limburg in plans for an underground pump accumulation plant (O-PAC). The design of this ‘blue battery’ (not to be confused with the BlueBattery of AquaBattery) involved a combination of a lake on the surface and an underground basin, connected by downpipes and with pumps that would also serve as generators. When there was a power surplus, water would be pumped up, and during shortages it would pour down 1400 metres to power the generators. Many years later, he decided to continue the development of this concept of an underground water reservoir.
The share of green electricity in the Netherlands is expected to grow from 8% today to 63% in 2030. This means we will require huge electricity buffers that can quickly switch between storage and supply. Huynens’ design is based on an electrical capacity of 1400 MW (comparable to a large power plant) and storage capacity for six hours. He estimates the construction costs at €1.8 billion.
The design of this ‘blue battery’ involved a combination of a lake on the surface and an underground basin
Huynens’ promotors, professor emeritus at TU Delft Han Vrijling and professor Gert Jan Kramer (Utrecht University) agree that such a buffer is necessary. “The Netherlands has insufficient storage capacity if it doesn’t want to rely on fossil fuel plants,” says Kramer. “The necessity and technical and economic feasibility of this idea have been proven. Now it is time to take the next step and implement it in a joint partnership between the industry, the government and the business community,” Vrijling adds.