BUILDING A MICROGRID IN BRISTOL

Is there a more fitting metaphor for the energy transition than a former coal shed and headquarters of a gas company becoming a shining example of smart sustainability?

While Bristol is proud of its heritage, the redevelopment of The Sheds is testament to our changing times. Once a coal shed, then the HQ of the Bristol and Clifton Oil Gas Company, the building is now set to deploy a smart microgrid as part of a pioneering redevelopment for the Bristol Digital Futures Institute.

Major Regeneration

The project is part of a collaboration between the University of Bristol and its partners to breathe new life into the city’s Temple Quarter. The university is creating the Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus, which will be home to 4,600 students and 650 university staff who will come together with business and community partners to tackle some of the world’s greatest challenges. The first occupant of the campus is Bristol Digital Futures Institute (BDFI) who are pioneering a different approach to digital technology innovation, bringing together technological and social expertise from across the University of Bristol and partners in academia, industry, government and local communities.

Nestling behind Temple Meads Station, the 200-year-old Coal Shed and Retort House are being reimagined to include unique specialist digital research facilities, workspaces, collaboration areas and a substantial data centre. As part of the development, BDFI received a £2.5 million Net Zero grant from Research England’s UK Research Partnership Investment Fund to reduce carbon emissions from the site. The grant will also provide a research testbed and enable BDFI and researchers from across the university and sustainability teams to explore how research facilities can incorporate and optimise such measures to deliver their ambitious net zero targets.

Matthew Lumsden, CEO of Connected Energy, said: “Our brief was to support BDFI in their vision to power the building using the greenest energy available. As the site is home to a large data centre, which is operating 24/7, the ability to store energy was critical in helping to meet this vision.”

Intelligent Microgrid

The solution was two E-STOR systems from Connected Energy, a leading provider of battery energy storage systems (BESS). Each E-STOR has a 360kWh capacity and an intelligent management system that is designed to provide the fulcrum between the grid, on-site renewables, and the premises. This enables BDFI to power the building using the greenest energy available. Connected Energy’s management system controls the storage and discharge of energy at the most optimum times of the day.

“The addition of battery energy storage enables BDFI to reduce the carbon intensity of its energy consumption to its lowest possible point,” added Matthew. “E-STOR stores greener power throughout the day – either from the solar array or the grid – to be used at times when renewable generation is low and the energy available from the grid is not at its cleanest.”

Dr Jenny Knapp, Director Programmes & Operations at Bristol Digital Futures Institute, said: “The University hopes that the microgrid and its battery energy storage will help us to maximise our use of clean power. The project is not only driven by these net zero ambitions but also the opportunity to use our site and the microgrid system as a research facility and share our learning with other data centres and research facilities more widely.”

Second Life Benefits

Connected Energy was chosen for the project because of its unique approach to energy storage systems. Rather than use new batteries in its E-STOR units, the company repurposes batteries from endof-life electric vehicles (EVs). These batteries can still have up to 80% of their original energy storage capacity, making E-STOR an ideal way to give them a second life. In this way, E-STOR is much less carbon intensive than systems that use new batteries.

As part of the project, Connected Energy is working closely with the university to ensure that its systems support ongoing research and software modelling of microgrids. The company’s data team is working with PhD students to evaluate the systems. Furthermore, Connected Energy has also provided a second life battery to the University’s Energy Futures Lab which will be involved in simulations of different scenarios relating to optimising battery performance.

“The use of second life batteries in the Connected Energy systems was integral to our overall goals by immediately demonstrating carbon savings when compared to a system which uses new batteries,” added Dr Knapp. “Connected Energy also understood the importance of the research element of this project and have been open with their contributions and support towards this.” www.connnected-energy.co.uk