The spread of battery storage systems is inhibited by the substantial investment required. Beside of the hardware, configuring a customized storage system is one of the largest cost factors. With the S-chameleonStore technical feasibility study a team of experts at Vienna University of Applied Sciences have laid the foundation for developing a flexible, multi-functional control and configuration platform for battery storage systems. With this platform battery storage units can be configured specifically for the application in question at low cost, making them usable for differing modes of operation.To be able to estimate costs, risks and potential, the team analysed technical, economic, regulatory and ecological issues.

Based on the results of S-chameleonStore the implementation project SPIN.OFF will start in 2016, in the context of the funding program “City of Tomorrow”. A zinc bromide redox-flow battery storage unit (with a total capacity of 32 kWh) is to be integrated in the office building “FutureBase” (start of construction summer 2016). This pioneering building, located in Vienna‘s 21st district, will be the first in Austria equipped with a battery unit to store surplus electricity from a photovoltaic facility and to reduce load peaks.