BESS (Battery Energy Storage System) technology is based on the use of electrochemical batteries, which can store the energy produced by renewable energy plants. They are a kind of power bank that can return the stored energy on demand.
BESS are one of the main energy storage systems.
They are also known as electrochemical energy systems. This is in order to distinguish them from others, such as gravitational energy systems (including pumped hydroelectric power plants), mechanical energy systems (including compressed air or flywheel systems), and thermal energy systems (Thermal Energy Storage, TES).
As in all storage systems, in BESS, the electricity produced by a power plant or any other generation method – even a single photovoltaic panel – is stored and then released at the desired times and moments.
The specificity of BESS lies in the technique used for storage: since electric current is a flow of electrical charges, a battery is charged by accumulating the charges of particular materials (called electrolytes) in one of the two poles, from which they then flow to the other pole during the discharge phase.
microgrids or energy communities, BESS also become a tool for social cohesion. Last but not least, BESS have a beneficial impact on humanity from an environmental point of view: by promoting the spread of clean energy sources, they help mitigate climate change and improve air quality.
The role of BESS in the energy system is therefore increasingly crucial from a social and environmental sustainability perspective: in order to pursue a fair and secure energy transition, it’s important that their presence becomes increasingly widespread. And continuous improvements in terms of costs and performance give us every reason to believe that this will indeed be the case.