St. Nikolaus passed test drive

It was an unusual test drive that excursion ship St. Nikolaus passed the other day: She was successfully steered to do the double humped curve to prequalify for primary reserve. After the prequalification she is, now, allowed to provide primary reserve in the transmission network of Amprion to help stabilize the grid.

The St. Nikolaus boat provides primary reserve.

St. Nikolaus is an excursion ship operated by Rursee Schifffahrt. During summer it carries up to 250 passengers on the Obersee, located in the picturesque landscape of the Eifel. The Obersee is a lake with special requirements for it also serves as a drinking water reservoir. Build by shipyard company LUX from Mondorf, St. Nikolaus is allowed to ride on the lake because she is electrically and, thus, sustainably driven and leaves no residuals in the water. The battery has a capacity of about 560 kWh, which is enough to drive 10 hours without charging.

During winter, St. Nikolaus does not transport any passengers but anchors in the shipyard. Now, she can use her battery to provide primary reserve during this time. Primary reserve balances out short-term deviations in the grid frequency. It, therefore, has to be fully activated within 30 seconds and needs to be provided for at least 15 minutes. The test drive, now, has proven: St. Nikolas can do it. We warmly congratulate.