Ads-tec battery used for frequency regulation at hydro plant

LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email

One of the containers at the Dörverden hydro plant. Source: ads-tec.
A hydro power plant in Germany has installed a 3MW lithium-ion battery made by manufacturer ads-tec to perform frequency regulation.

The unsubsidised project will be used to balance the power from the 100-year old Dörverden hydro plant to maintain a grid frequency of as close to 50Hz as possible.

It is the first MW-scale battery in grid operator TenneT’s German network, according to Statkraft, the owner of the hydro plant, which says it has invested €4 million in the project.

“The rising percentage of renewable power generation demands flexible solutions. Lithium Ion batteries are, due to their technical properties, perfectly suited for the quick balance of fluctuating generation from wind and solar power,” said Dr. Pieter Schipper, senior vice president continental assets and market access, Statkraft.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

The battery system has been spread across three containers at the site with about 14,000 cells used in total.

“We actively participate in the development of new technologies to find and enable new solutions for the changes in the power market,” said Urban Keussen, CEO, TenneT TSO GmbH. “Therefore we are happy to have the first multi-megawatt facility of its kind in our grid area with the battery storage constructed by Statkraft. Its prequalification for the control reserve market is a further step on the road to stronger integration of renewables in the system,” he added.

Read Next

September 18, 2026
A roundup of some of our key takeaways from the Energy Storage Summit Germany this week, including around FCAs, inertia, the capacity market (CM), EU restrictions on China, and the future of one very notable system integrator.
September 16, 2026
LFP is the de facto choice for the German BESS market today with sodium-ion still far from bankable, but that doesn’t mean choosing a supplier is necessarily straightforward. 
September 16, 2026
Zelestra and steelmaker Salzgitter Flachstahl have signed a PPA for a new solar-plus-storage portfolio in Germany.
September 15, 2026
Flexible Connection Agreements (FCAs) must not be used simply to exclude BESS from connecting to the grid, but the industry will have to make do with them and all their imperfections for the foreseeable.
September 15, 2026
BESS project owners, lenders and optimisers kicked off the Energy Storage Summit Germany 2026 today in Berlin with a discussion on developing a bankable project.