The kick-off of the European PowerMAX project, funded by the Horizon Europe Framework Programme, took place on June 3-4. The project, which will run for four years with a total budget of €8 million, aims to maximize the value of long-term energy storage by integrating various technologies, open-source tools and demonstrators. The study analyzes the revenue staking process of the investors, how to reduce investment risk and which regulatory tools are useful for stimulating the development of long-term storage systems, which could, in turn, be useful for accelerating the deployment of renewable energy generation. PowerMAX will focus on three LDES technologies (hydrogen, molten salt, and batteries) and analyze real-world demonstrators located in both Europe and the Americas.

RSE leads the final work package of the project, which will draw the final conclusions from all of PowerMAX’s experiences, formulate regulatory guidelines, and provide considerations for the optimization of the investor’s business case. These considerations will then be consulted externally with the involvement of key European stakeholders. RSE is also responsible for one of the project’s most important demonstrators, carried out in collaboration with the utility company HERA, also a member of the project consortium. This demo will consist of a technical-economic analysis carried out by simulation on HERA’s important projects for the development of the hydrogen supply chain and a hydrogen distribution background in the Emilia-Romagna Region.