Will BESS Be All That Useful in the Long Term? Porsche isn't the first automaker to string together dozens or hundreds of battery packs from its pre-production cars, thereby creating a battery energy storage system (BESS). In Porsche's case, this system is meant to stabilize its Leipzig plant during peak energy usage times. But in the future, Porsche sees these types of systems as being integral parts of the larger grid, with the automaker being able to sell energy to grid consumers when conditions call for it. At least in theory. But just when might these storage systems align with all the other hardware (not to mention a practical business case), allowing automakers that run them to make money just like power companies? |