ENERGY STORAGE Munich Oktoberfest: TESVOLT commercial battery storage systems solve power grid capacity issues

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The world’s largest public festival has become increasingly electrified since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. However, the physical power grid infrastructure on site is reaching its limits: last year, several power outages occurred in the festival tents. Munich’s municipal utility company, Stadtwerke München (SWM), could only further increase capacity at the medium-voltage level at disproportionate cost.

Master electrician Matthias Poeting is now ensuring the reliable operation of the large Pschorr-Bräurosl and Löwenbräu festival tents this year with three commercial battery storage systems supplied by the Wittenberg-based provider TESVOLT.

Physical limits of the power grid infrastructure

The risk of power outages at Oktoberfest is very real. A large festival tent is provided with a grid connection capacity of around 420 kilowatts (kW) by Munich’s municipal utility company, Stadtwerke München, but actual demand can surge to well over 500 kW during peak periods. At those moments, the grid connection is operating under continuous overload. Last year, the lights went out completely twice in the Löwenbräu tent, while the Pschorr-Bräurosl tent experienced one outage right in the middle of ongoing operations.

“A power outage in a fully occupied festival tent is the absolute nightmare for any tent operator. Until now, when the grid connection was overloaded, we had very limited options to respond within five minutes and prevent an outage,” explains Matthias Poeting, Managing Director of MP Elektrotechnik München, who has been responsible for the electrical infrastructure of several large Oktoberfest tents for many years. “This year, the battery storage systems give us a two-hour buffer. That simply gives me some breathing space. I can talk to the kitchen staff, we can selectively shut down equipment and reduce the load. It’s an incredible advantage for operational reliability.”

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War in Ukraine and emissions regulations drive the electrification boom

The appetite for electricity at the Theresienwiese has multiplied within a short period of time. In addition to the move away from gas since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, new and stricter municipal emissions regulations are accelerating the transition to electric-powered systems. As even small food stalls are now required to comply with extensive regulations governing the use of gas, tent operators can save money by switching to fully electric kitchens, avoiding the installation of costly exhaust gas systems and monitoring equipment. At the same time, comfort levels are increasing. The patio heaters in outdoor areas alone now require up to 150 kW per tent. Particularly in cooler weather, peak loads rise significantly, as the heaters consume large amounts of electricity. This power is now supplied decentrally by the battery storage systems, reducing the strain on the tents’ grid connections.

More cost-effective than expanding the grid

The tent operators believe the city has a responsibility to provide sufficient electricity, but the physical limits of the grid have been reached. A conventional expansion of the grid infrastructure is hardly feasible on the festival grounds. The surrounding transformer substations already operate at full capacity during Oktoberfest, and expanding both the medium-voltage network and the low-voltage main distribution infrastructure would be disproportionate from both an economic and logistical perspective.

“The investment required for battery storage systems is significantly lower than a comprehensive upgrade of the local transformer substations and grid infrastructure,” explains Poeting. “In practice, such a storage system is expected to pay for itself within just two to three years. In addition, the systems require very little space. And if demand continues to grow in the coming years, we can simply expand the battery system. That’s it.”

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Creating flexibility for Oktoberfest’s energy future

“Oktoberfest is the ultimate stress test for any technology under extreme conditions. That is exactly why we supplied our TESVOLT FORTON commercial battery storage systems,” says Daniel Hannemann, Co-Founder and Supervisory Board Member of TESVOLT. “These systems use state-of-the-art high-temperature battery cells. They make the storage systems highly resilient and durable. Another advantage on the confined festival grounds is that the technology does not require liquid cooling. This saves space and completely eliminates the use of environmentally hazardous coolants. It also aligns perfectly with Oktoberfest’s sustainability ambitions.”

“No one can say exactly what the energy infrastructure of Oktoberfest will look like in five or ten years,” says Poeting. “It would be quite smart to make use of the waste heat generated by the tents or harness wind energy, and perhaps one day there will even be solar film modules installed on the tent roofs. So why should we expand the grid at enormous expense when intelligent battery storage technology offers a far more cost-effective solution and can respond flexibly to future energy requirements? Oktoberfest tent operators are also very open to smart, green energy systems.”

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