Innovation for hybrid power plants

Hybrid power plants offer the chance of a more stable supply, as they combine at least two different energy types. Our client, a utility company focused on renewable power plant management, recognised that many renewable power generating technologies (e.g., solar and wind power) suffer from limitations in terms of intermittent and unpredictable generating levels. As such, they sought to address these issues through their next innovation projects.

Our client was planning to update and re-focus their internal innovation initiatives and identify new collaborators for mid/long-term development projects. But they needed guidance on how best to move forward.

They were aware of new designs for hybrid power plants (HPPs) that combine one or more forms of renewables power generation with on-site battery-based electricity storage systems. However, they needed expert assistance in evaluating the capabilities offered by new approaches developed in this emerging technology area. Specifically, they asked us to evaluate hybrid designs and new simulation and management tools, to determine which is best suited to their needs over the short-term, and whether they should plan to develop other designs and tools over the next five years. Additionally, they asked us to identify key technology solutions and developers of systems suitable for hybrid power plants, and select simulation tools to use in drafting projects based on different concepts.

We assembled a project team of experts with backgrounds in research related to hybrid renewable power plant design, and modelling and simulation tools for renewable power plants. Our team was already actively working on new solutions related to these types of plants, so they were well-aware of the newest innovations, and the potential limitations of certain tools and approaches.

CamIn’s project team identified the newest developments in hybrid power plants and critically assessed the claims of their developers to objectively benchmark new technology solutions. Our investigation analysed five types of designs, identifying the benefits and drawbacks of each approach when considering a variety of factors. We also evaluated 15 hybrid simulation tools, and short-listed three tools for our client to consider for further collaboration and co-development.

In just six weeks, our expert team filtered through the latest developments in this emerging and complex innovation space to identify the best designs for future development projects and the optimal hybrid power plant design simulation tools. As a result, our client could reduce the risk of future innovation initiatives, and consider potential future collaborators based on our team’s expert analysis of the relative advantages of each entity’s technology and tools.