Younicos

Younicos

Younicos Logo Let the fossils rest in peace
Company type	Aktiengesellschaft, Corporation
Industry	Energy Storage
Founded	2005 in Berlin, Germany
Founder	Alexander Voigt, Clemens Triebel
Headquarters	Berlin, Germany and Austin, Texas, USA
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Stephen L. Prince (President & CEO); Jayesh Goyal (Chief Commercial Officer); Philippe Poux (Chief Financial Officer)
Products	Intelligent Energy Storage Solutions
Owner	Aggreko
Website	www.aggreko.com/en-gb/microgrid-and-storage-solutions

Younicos was a technology firm with German-American roots, focused on developing advanced energy storage solutions and control software. The company combined battery technologies, power electronics, and proprietary software to create systems tailored for managing power grids, including applications within Microgrid environments.

Headquartered in both Berlin, Germany, and Austin, Texas, USA, Younicos employed approximately 130 staff members as of 2017.

History

Originating in Berlin in 2005 under the name Solon Laboratories, the company was founded by former executives of the solar panel manufacturer Solon. In 2009, it merged with I-Sol Ventures GmbH and adopted the name Younicos AG.

That same year, Younicos established a pioneering one-megawatt/6-megawatt-hour sodium-sulfur battery test facility at its Berlin base—the largest of its kind in Europe at the time. By 2012, it had expanded with a 200-kilowatt lithium-ion battery installation, combining both battery types (totaling 1.2 MW) to participate in Germany’s frequency regulation market.

In 2014, Younicos delivered Europe’s largest commercial standalone battery installation for WEMAG, a German utility company.

The company launched its inaugural hardware product, the Y.Cube, in 2015. This modular energy storage system integrated lithium-ion battery modules with proprietary power conversion technology and control software. During that year, Younicos raised $50 million in growth funding from investors such as First Solar, Inc. and Grupo ECOS.

By the conclusion of 2016, Younicos had secured contracts or completed installations totaling 200 MW of energy storage capacity globally, including 75 MW contracted within that year alone—a fourfold increase compared to 2015.

In July 2017, Scottish-based Aggreko acquired Younicos and incorporated it into its Microgrid and Storage Solutions division by October 2018. Following this integration, the Younicos brand was phased out.

Products

Y.Cube

Y.Cube is a turnkey energy storage unit featuring all essential components—battery cells, inverter systems, HVAC equipment, and auxiliary elements—housed within a single enclosure. This pre-assembled and factory-tested product is designed for rapid deployment.

Y.Station

Targeted at large-scale energy storage applications, Y.Station provides a standardized and engineered solution that simplifies project design and shortens installation timelines.

Y.Q

The Y.Q operating system functions as the centralized control platform and intelligent management core embedded within every Younicos energy storage installation.

Select Storage Projects

Centrica (United Kingdom)

Younicos was chosen by Centrica to implement one of the globe’s most extensive battery-based energy storage projects: a 49 MW lithium-ion system located at the former Roosecote coal power plant in Cumbria. Expected to be finalized by winter 2018, this installation will enhance grid frequency stability by reacting to demand changes within seconds.

WEMAG II (Germany)

Collaborating with the German utility WEMAG, Younicos developed a 5 MW/5 MWh battery facility in Schwerin-Lankow. By late 2016, WEMAG increased the Battery Park’s capacity to 10 MW of power and 15 MWh of storage.

Notrees (Texas)

Duke Energy utilizes Younicos control technology for a 36 MW energy storage system at its 153 MW Notrees wind farm in Texas. Partially supported by a U.S. Department of Energy Smart Grid grant, the Notrees BESS—recognized as North America’s largest wind-integrated storage asset—is undergoing an upgrade with state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries during 2016-17.

Graciosa (Azores)

Younicos’ Y.Q software governs real-time energy dispatch on Graciosa Island, facilitating seamless integration of wind and solar power alongside diesel generators, which serve as backup during periods of low renewable generation.

Xtreme Power

In April 2014, Younicos acquired the assets of Xtreme Power, a battery system developer based in Kyle, Texas, which had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier that year.

Established in 2004 in Austin, Texas, Xtreme Power deployed its inaugural megawatt-scale storage project in Maui, Hawaii, in 2009. In collaboration with Duke Energy in 2012, it launched the largest U.S. wind-integrated battery storage facility at Notrees, Texas, with a capacity of 36 MW / 24 MWh.

External links

• Official website