German energy solution developer Home Power Solutions has expanded its product range for commercial and multi-family buildings.

The company’s Picea is a home storage solution comprised of a battery and hydrogen storage capacity designed to provide year-round power connected to a rooftop solar system.

In daily use the battery is charged and drawn on for example at night. Once fully charged any surplus is used to create hydrogen as a longer term storage medium to draw on for example during the winter when the solar capacity is limited.

HPS has now taken the technology a step further with its Förster, comprised of up to ten Piceas for larger commercial buildings and multi-family dwellings with capacity to store up to 15,000kW of solar power.

The first of these multi-picea units with five Piceas is now installed for the specialist plumbing and heating company Josef Küpper Söhne GmbH in Meckenheim.

“We are pursuing an independent and clean energy supply for our customers and ourselves, because the time is ripe for the entry into a CO2-free society. That’s why we opted for the multi-picea long-term storage system when designing the new company location in Meckenheim,” said Peter Küpper, Managing Director of Josef Küpper Söhne.

The Picea occupies an area of about 1.5m2 and includes the 20kW battery, hydrogen electrolyser and fuel cell, while the hydrogen is stored in metal canisters outside the home, with all components controlled and monitored by an intelligent energy management system.

In the Förster, communication between the individual piceas ensures that the energy and building energy flows are distributed evenly to optimise their longevity.

HPS estimates that an individual Picea avoids around 3t of CO2 annually.

HPS reports further developing the solution for communities of up to 40 homes and utilising them as a virtual power plant.