Liebherr battery energy storage system keeps Austrians safe from avalanches

The Austrian Torrent and Avalanche Control Centre has deployed a Liebherr-developed battery energy storage system to power the cranes, offices, and equipment used in the construction of this year’s consolidation barrier – a critical piece of infrastructure designed to keep Austrians safe from avalanches and landslides this winter.

Here’s how it’s going.

“We could have used a diesel generator to power the construction site as we always have before,” explains Nikolaus Wieser, graduate-level engineer and site manager at the Austrian Torrent and Avalanche Control Centre. “However, we also strive to reduce emissions, so we are delighted to be using this innovative Liebherr solution.”

Perhaps best known in these pages as the builders of almost impossibly massive mining excavators and ultra-heavy-duty haul trucks, Liebherr is nevertheless a leader in the development of off-highway battery electric vehicle technology, and their work in that field has directly led to the development of both battery energy storage and DC fast charging systems – with those reaching 6MW of “corded lightning” speed levels.

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The battery packs in the mobile, battery-based LPO 100 battery energy storage system (BESS) deployed by Avalanche Contol Centre covers the energy needs of both the Liebherr 34 K fast-erecting crane working on the site, among other tools.

With a capacity of 94 kWh, the energy storage system buffers the fixed power connection on site. In addition to powering the crane, it supplies other equipment, such as container units, battery-powered devices, circular saws and a water pump. During the day, the storage system is used to cover the crane’s energy peaks of up to 100 kVA. Only the energy needed is consumed.

LIEBHERR

Interestingly, the site does have access to grid energy – but it’s insufficient for the peak energy needs of the crane while it’s in operation. So, when the crane isn’t in use, the batteries in the LPO 100 “trickle charge” with grid and solar, then dump the energy quickly, as needed, eliminating the need for a conventional diesel or has genset.

“The installation went well, and the storage system has been up and running ever since,” added Wieser. “That’s how it should be.”

Electrek’s Take

It’s an odd truth in the construction space, but just because you’re working for the utility doesn’t mean you’ll have adequate power (or any power, for that matter) on the job site. That’s why solutions like this one from Liebherr are critical in the long run game of decarbonizing off-highway vehicles and construction projects.

The engineers Austrian Torrent and Avalanche Control Centre has turned this BESS into something like the Orange Juicer, and by cleverly understanding their own power needs and the fact that energy is the ability to do work, they’re able to get that critical work done in quiet, serene, emission-free comfort and go home without having their brains and ears rattled by the constant thrum of diesel engines.

Wins all over.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Liebherr.

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