Commissioning of a unique hybrid power plant for electricity storage in Europe - partnership with the University of Pannonia

Ideona Zrt., in partnership with the University of Pannonia and the Budapest University of Technology, has applied as consortium leader for the "Development of innovative electrochemical storage of carbon-free, surplus electricity" tender announced by the National Research, Development and Innovation Office, which will enable the company to be the first in Central Europe to commission a vanadium-based hybrid power plant in Öskü.

In Hungary, solar energy has been the main source of renewable energy for the past half decade, and the next five years will focus on the technology of storing the green energy generated from it, according to a press conference held at the University of Pannonia on Tuesday morning. Ideona's investment and the technology used is unique in Central Europe, as it can store solar energy for much longer than its technological predecessors.

The event was attended by Attila Steiner, State Secretary for Energy and Climate Policy, Péter Ovádi, Member of Parliament, Dr. Péter Mihalovics, Chairman of the Board of Ideona Zrt., Dr. Péter Kaderják, representing the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, and Zsolt Csillag, Chancellor of the University of Pannonia.

Zsolt Csillag pointed out that at the University of Pannonia, sustainability was considered important even before it was a hot topic in the public discourse, and then he spoke about the importance of energy production and storage. - "It is a fundamental truth that there is no infinite growth in a closed system," he stressed.

He pointed out that the University of Pannonia is the first in the country to have succeeded in completely switching from natural gas at its campus in Veszprém to heating exclusively with electricity, partly generated by the university itself using solar energy.

On behalf of Ideona Zrt., Dr. Péter Mihalovics, Chairman of the Board of Directors, presented the power plant. He explained that the development is unique in that it has a much longer lifetime than the previous 5-6 year interval, up to 25 years, while producing a total of 250 kilowatts of nominal power, with a six-hour storage time and a capacity of 1500 kilowatt-hours. The plant is able to store and release surplus energy during the day for the morning and evening hours, when the population's energy consumption demand is much higher. The system also has the advantage of being made from recyclable materials and is non-fire and non-explosive, operating at temperatures of around 30 degrees Celsius. In terms of payback, the life-cycle investment cost is low, about half that of lithium batteries.

In his speech, Attila Steiner, State Secretary for Energy and Climate Policy, recalled that the Ministry of Innovation and Technology set a target of 6,000 megawatts for solar power generation by 2030 years ago, but this target was already reached this year, and the target was raised to 12,000 megawatts.

"Öskü made the right decision in creating an industrial park on the outskirts of the municipality, as such developments help make the settlement self-sustainable." - said Péter Ovádi, Member of Parliament for the region.

Dr. Péter Kaderják, representing the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, said that the university's staff are analysing the operation of the facility, and will focus on the development of energy storage implementation in the next five years.