Siemens will install a battery storage system as part of the overhaul of a gas power plant for chemicals giant BASF.
As well as replacing the gas turbines at the industrial power plant in Schwarzheide, Germany, a SIESTART battery system has been installed to provide blackstart capabilities. Siemens will also provide a 15-year service contract.
“Adapting the new gas turbine to the existing plant and carrying out the other necessary renovations require complex individual planning and extensive engineering expertise,” said Thorbjörn Fors, CEO of the Service Distributed Generation and Oil & Gas within Siemens Gas and Power. “Siemens is one of the few suppliers on the market with all the manufacturing and engineering skills needed to reliably implement such a demanding project.”
The battery system will be provided by Fluence, the joint venture between AES and Siemens. The company said BASF will benefit from blackstart capabilities, islanding, if required, and a more reliable power supply.
The site at Schwarzheide currently has two gas turbines for power and two Siemens steam turbines providing steam for BASF manufacturing and processing activities. BASF has ordered one efficient 57MW gas turbine, which Siemens says will reduce both costs and carbon.
“We are pleased to work with Siemens for the modernization of our combined cycle power plant. We continue our long-term partnership with this project,” said Jürgen Fuchs, Chairman of the Management Board of BASF Schwarzheide GmbH.