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HMS presents communication solutions for BESS

Networking gateways from HMS are well-suited for use in BESS. (Image source: HMS)

HMS Networks is now presenting several communication solutions for the rapidly expanding battery market

Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) require communication capabilities to connect to batteries and peripheral components, communicate with the power grid, monitor systems remotely and much more. BESS may be one of the keys to solve the energy crisis and make the world more sustainable. Since green energy sources such as wind and solar are not always available, large battery parks can make it possible to store the energy to use when there is less sun or wind.

BESS are made up of battery cells that are combined into battery packs. They are then combined into containers and can make up battery parks the size of several football fields. The systems can use new or recycled batteries and combine many different components. However, these large battery parks need a lot of communication capabilities in order to work. HMS now presents a comprehensive package of communication solutions catered for this application area.

Since the battery market has been spearheaded by the car industry, CAN is the communication standard of choice in many systems. Here, HMS offers an extensive portfolio of communication solutions via the Ixxat brand for PC connection, networking, line extension, galvanic isolation and more. In networking, the protection of components is crucial, both from external sources (like lightning strikes) and from system-related issues (AC/DC noise). BESS often combine a variety of different equipment from different industries within a single application – batteries, BMS, PLCs, fire detection units or air conditioning. CAN, Modbus, BACnet, KNX and other protocols can be easily linked via intelligent gateways from HMS, which handle the all-important data exchange while also enabling centralised control.

The SG gateways enable centralised control as well as remote access for predictive maintenance, logging or data visualisation using the i4SCADA solution from the HMS-owned company WEBfactory. The SG gateways also provide robust cybersecurity features, such as firewall, OpenVPN, TLS encryption and user management. These pro-tective measures are indispensable to protect against cyber-attacks.

“We see a rapidly growing demand for communication solutions in Battery Energy Storage Systems as society as a whole is turning to more sustainable energy sources such as wind and solar,” said Alexander Hess, general manager at HMS Business Unit Ixxat. “Communication is needed to get BESS systems to work and HMS offers an extensive portfolio of industrial communication solutions to solve the communication issues at hand in these systems.”

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