Construction of a 5MW battery storage system has started on the premises of RWTH Aachen University in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Exide Technologies and SMA Solar Technology are supplying the technical components for the Modular Multimegawatt, Multitechnology Medium-Voltage Battery Storage System (M5BAT) project.

The other participants in the project include E.ON, E.ON Energy Research Center and the Institute of Power Systems and Power Economics at RWTH Aachen University.

The modular design of the M5BAT storage system combines several battery technologies for optimal use.

It will feature lithium-ion batteries to meet short-term power demand, lead-acid batteries that will respond to discharge times of one hour or less, and high-temperature batteries to deliver power for several hours.

The battery storage system, which is expected to be completed in mid-2016, will be situated in a former office building.

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy provided a €6.7m grant for the system as part of its Energy Storage Funding Initiative.

E.ON chief markets officer Bernhard Reutersberg said: "As part of its innovation activities, E.ON is investing in a broad spectrum of future technologies for energy storage. Large battery storage systems are particularly interesting thanks to their flexible possibilities for use.

"The findings expected from M5BAT are of value for the entire energy industry, particularly as a means of support on the path towards low-CO2 power generation."