Techno-economic modelling of stationary energy storage systems with focus on temperature's influence on aging

As intermittent renewable energy is being implemented and rolled out more rapidly to compensate for the termination of fossil fuel-based power plants, the need for large-scale storage technologies is increasing. However, depending on the particular application and electricity market in which a battery energy storage system (BESS) operates, many of the potential applications of large-scale BESS are not yet economically viable, making optimal economic operation crucial for accelerated deployment. Especially frequent replacements and thus rapid aging is to be avoided. Among other
influencing factors, thermal management plays an important
role in minimizing the aging of the battery. However, keeping a
large-scale storage containment within a narrow temperature
range leads to additional energy costs for cooling and heating.
To weigh these two economically vital factors, this paper, based
on a master’s thesis, introduces a techno-economic model which
enables the determination of an optimal temperature range
customized for each BESS. Moreover, an exemplary utilization
of this model is demonstrated by outlining a simulation study.
The main results of the study show the dependency of the
net present value (NPV) on various allowed temperature
ranges within the BESS containment. It is found that for
ideal operation, the thermal management system should be
tailored for each use case rather than being set to a particular
temperature range based solely on the BESS aging.