Rolls-Royce, which in January acquired a majority share in the energy storage provider Qinous, aims to move from a product supplier to an energy storage solutions provider, with a focus on microgrids.
Rolls-Royce acquired a 29.9% share in the company in October 2018, then in January boosted that to a 73.1% share.
Qinous now has about 50 storage projects operating mostly in the Caribbean, Sub Saharan Africa and Germany. They are small-to-medium projects for hotel resorts, hospitals and small industrial sites, said Cordelia Thielitz, vice president of business field microgrids, Rolls-Royce.
Among Qinous microgrid projects are a community electrification effort in Australia, a diesel-hybrid system for a Caribbean island and a diesel-hybrid project for a hospital in Haiti.
Meanwhile, Rolls-Royce is working on numerous microgrids, mainly in the utility and commercial and industrial markets. They consist of solar PV, battery and diesel systems that aim to improve the impact of energy systems on the climate.
Microgrids strong in US, Europe rising
Roll-Royce sees the US — particularly California, Texas and the East Coast — as the leading microgrid markets, she said. The Caribbean region, Australia and Asia Pacific countries also hold potential.
In addition, in the wake of the European Green Deal, Rolls-Royce expects to see increasing demand in many European countries.
MTU America, a subsidiary of Rolls-Royce’s business unit Power Systems, has been involved in microgrids for many years, she noted. It provides diesel gensets and gas systems and combined heat and power (CHP) systems that support decentralized energy generation, she said.
“Due to our history we have long experience in controlling and managing and — even more — optimizing the operation of several energy generation assets,” she said. They include diesel gen sets and gas systems.
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