Allye Energy's MAX Battery System boosts Roadchef grid capacity

Allye Energy, a clean-tech start-up, has successfully installed its flagship MAX Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) at Roadchef Killington Lake motorway services. The system was operational ahead of the August Bank Holiday weekend, which saw the busiest August getaway on the roads in nearly a decade, with 19.2m leisure journeys by car over the weekend, according to the RAC.

Paul Comer, Director of EV Implementation at Roadchef, said: "Roadchef is delighted to have installed the Allye MAX battery at Killington Lakemotorway services. It provides and increases our resiliency, helps us overcome gridconstraints and provides reliable onsite power. The MAX is an intelligent solution,monitoring the site and providing critical support at times of peak demand, whichhelps reduce our costs whilst enabling us to better serve our customers".

The monitoring of the site and providing critical support during peak demand times helps to reduce costs while improving customer service. The installation of the Allye MAX is a significant step in Roadchef's mission to make Britain's roads safer and greener.

As one of the UK's leading roadside service area operators, Roadchef welcomes over 52 million customers annually. Its motorway services are crucial hubs for rest, relaxation, and recharging.

As Roadchef continues to install more EV charging infrastructure on its sites in partnership with Gridserve, the demand for power from the grid often reaches or exceeds the maximum import capacity (MIC) set by the Distribution Network Operator (DNO). This is particularly noticeable during peak times, such as Bank Holiday weekends, when record numbers of drivers stop to refuel.

At Roadchef Killington Lake, there are a wide range of amenities including a Costa Coffee, WHSmith, McDonald's, a Days Inn by Wyndham hotel alongside EV chargers that all need power.

The typical solution to upgrade power at a motorway service station involves increasing the supply from the grid by working with the DNO. However, upgrades to distribution, if possible, can cost several hundred thousand pounds and take several years to complete.

The alternative solution is the installation of battery energy storage, which acts as a flexible buffer to provide additional power and manage peak times during high demand on site. Roadchef turned to Allye after the launch of the MAX battery energy storage system as a potential solution to its grid constraints.

With its intelligent software, high performance and proven battery technology from repurposed electric vehicle batteries, the MAX provides constraint management at Roadchef Killington Lake through peak shaving and lowers costs through smart arbitrage, storing cheaper energy off-peak. Allye's software monitors the power demand across the entire Killington Lake site, carefully responding to peak requirements through intelligent forecasting and prediction, responding in real-time as power loads increase.

This is often due to the EV charging demand taking the site over its rated capacity. Through intelligent control, the MAX avoids breaches of the site limits by providing a power and capacity buffer.

Avoiding blackouts at the motorway services delivers a material cost saving to Roadchef while enabling the facilities to deliver on the customer experience.

Jonathan Carrier, Co-founder and CEO of Allye said: "The installation of the MAX at Killington Lake motorway services further demonstrates how Allye is helping customers solve for grid and power constraints. Our intelligentA software-controlled battery energy storage system can offer more power from an existing connection, reduce power demands to limit demand charges, and provide off-grid power for EV charging, events and a host of other uses.

"As everything goes electric, we need more power and the grid needs more help to deliver cleaner, cheaper energy for everyone."