Cooling and battery hybrid solution during grape harvest season

Our customer, a prominent wine producer in France, needed additional cooling capacity at their vineyard to maintain optimal temperatures during the crucial fermentation and processing stages of wine production.

Consistent temperature control is essential for preserving the quality and flavour profile of the final wine. A temporary cooling system was required to cool a wine tank for one month during the peak grape harvest season.

Traditionally, a chiller powered by a generator would be the standard solution for this application, however, we recognised an opportunity for our customer to enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and minimise environmental impact by integrating a battery energy storage system (BESS).

We implemented a 360 kW water-cooled chiller, powered by a hybrid system comprising a 300 kVA battery and a downsized 200 kVA generator. The battery’s inclusion significantly reduced generator runtime, leading to decreased fuel consumption, lower operating costs, and fewer emissions.

Before deployment at the vineyard, we successfully tested this innovative solution at our Lyon depot, assuring the customer of its reliability and performance. The battery’s quiet operation was an additional advantage, particularly beneficial for this project as the vineyard is situated in small town with residential areas nearby.

We helped the customer maintain optimal cooling temperatures during their peak harvest season. Our chiller, which cooled a critical wine tank, was powered by a hybrid solution utilising battery energy storage. This innovative approach significantly reduced fuel consumption, fuel costs, and emissions.

Compared to a traditional generator-powered chiller, our hybrid solution reduced fuel consumption by over 2,660 litres and delivered fuel cost savings of approximately €2,900, all whilst cutting CO2 emissions by 40% (7.10 tonnes).

The customer could proactively monitor equipment performance through our Aggreko Remote Monitoring (ARM) system. Access to real-time energy consumption and emissions data provided valuable insights for optimising the battery’s operational efficiency. Data collected could also be used to optimise for a future grid extension project. 

Our customer was pleased with the solution’s reliability, fuel savings, and quiet operation.