Freiburg/Germany, 8th July 2015 – Storage systems manufacturer ASD Automatic Storage Device was yesterday awarded the Baden-Württemberg Environmental Technology Prize (Umwelttechnikpreis) for its innovative control system Pacadu, which considerably boosts the performance and lifespan of storage systems. Every two years, the Ministry of the Environment presents the prize to outstanding products and processes in environmental technology for their important contribution to the efficient use of resources and environment protection. Members of the panel included professors from various Fraunhofer institutes and representatives from environmental technology companies.
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“ASD’s storage system concept is a technical breakthrough – it solves many of the problems associated with electrical systems in one go,” explains Franz Untersteller, Minister of the Environment, Climate Protection and the Energy Sector Baden-Württemberg. Pacadu allows battery cells in energy storage systems to be connected in parallel. In conventional energy storage systems connected in series, the performance and lifetime of the entire battery pack are determined by the weakest cell. One defective cell causes the entire battery pack to fail, even if the other cells are fully functional. Intelligent battery cell control system Pacadu prevents weak cells from having more than a slight impact on the performance of storage systems and allows any defect cells to be replaced – even with cells with a different capacity, from a different manufacturer and based on a different battery technology.
New horizons for e-mobility
“Cell control solution Pacadu could also give an unexpected boost to the e-mobility market as it allows high-performance and high-capacity cells to be combined in just one energy storage system. This would improve the acceleration and increase the range of the electric car as we know it,” explains Wolfram Walter, Managing Director of ASD and inventor of the Pacadu technology. “Pacadu will change the face of battery production, storage design and e-mobility – I’m certain of it.”
Second award for ASD
ASD was awarded the Environmental Technology Prize in the measuring and control technology category. This marks the Freiburg-based company’s second award after receiving the German Renewables Award in autumn 2013 for its innovative storage technology.
Large-scale ASD storage system with “Pacadu inside”
ASD also integrates Pacadu technology into its large-scale storage systems. The company spent around a year successfully testing several prototypes with “Pacadu inside” and is now preparing to launch the product on the market. ASD has filed 14 patents for the technology, which boosts the efficiency rating of storage devices equipped with Pacadu control systems to 93%. The solution is currently in the certification process and is expected to be available this autumn.
All storage system modules equipped with Pacadu technology have a capacity of 3.2 kWh and can be combined in any number. For example, a large-scale storage system with a capacity of 3.2 MWh might consist of 1,000 Pacadu storage modules, and be only half as large as its conventional counterparts, thus saving huge amounts of space. Pacadu electronics can also be purchased separately from ASD storage systems.
About ASD
ASD Automatic Storage Device GmbH is headquartered in Umkirch, near the German city of Freiburg. The company was founded in May 2013 by engineers Wolfram Walter and Gerd Knoll. ASD manufactures intelligent storage systems based on lithium-iron-phosphate battery technology, making them especially safe. The storage systems are produced in Germany and used in houses built by leading prefabricated house manufacturer WeberHaus, for example.
