Max, you’ve been with EnBW for around four and a half years and started out as a trainee. What fascinated you about the world of battery storage back then and made you say: “That’s where I want to go”?
Max: What fascinated me is that batteries can be used across the entire value chain – from first life to second life (this is what we call used automotive batteries that get a second life in stationary systems) all the way to recycling, where the cells start another full lifecycle as recycled units. And of course, the flexibility batteries bring into a renewable energy world. At EnBW, we consider all of that.
How did you actually end up at EnBW?
Max: Honestly, through the website. The “EnBW” brand was well-known enough for me to start looking there directly. The trainee program offered the chance to get to know every facet of the company.
Do you remember your first project or the moment when you thought: “Wow, this is exactly my field”?
Max: During my studies, I built and tested a battery tester for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells for a company. After several test runs, you quickly realise how complex meaningful data collection for these cells is – but also how enormous the potential is. Back then, I thought it would take a long time for this technology to scale. That was in 2017 – and today we live in a world where LFP cells have become standard in almost every area of electrochemical energy storage. With how fast everything has moved, you still find yourself saying “wow” almost every day.
Today you’re an operations manager. What does a typical day look like? And does a “typical” day even exist?
Max: Since I already mentioned complex data collection, let me start by saying: a lot of things are automated. Every morning, I get an automatically generated report in my inbox with potential anomalies from the previous day. If nothing critical happened, then the day is a “typical” one. Maintenance cycles and inspections at the sites are planned in advance. But if anything critical does come up, it’s about troubleshooting the systems together with maintenance teams on-site or remotely at my PC. It’s always a change of pace – both in positive and challenging ways.
You’re responsible for maintenance, operations, and coordination. With systems that are several megawatts in size, that sounds like a lot of responsibility. How do you keep an overview?
Max: Monitoring and analytics systems help us keep track of everything. We developed some of them ourselves or had them tailored specifically to our needs to make our day-to-day work easier.
But overall, you only stay on top of everything as a team – especially among operations managers. And we also have experts for electrical installations, experts for control systems, experts in IT security. You shouldn’t be afraid to ask questions all the time.
Safety must play a major role in systems like these. What does occupational safety look like for you and your team in everyday work?
Max: For operations managers, safety is actually more important than generating profits. Only through continuous training and instruction can you ensure that you don’t lose focus on it. EnBW gives us the opportunity to keep expanding our qualifications.
What has been the most exciting or challenging moment in a project so far?
Max: Electrical issues are always solvable somehow, sooner or later. But having a mouse inside a container and not knowing how it got there – now that’s a bit more exotic and definitely adds some variety.
How do you explain to someone, in simple terms, what a battery storage system does?
Max: A good analogy in our increasingly renewable energy world is a bucket of water in the rain. When it rains a lot, there’s enough water – but the bucket overflows. When the rain stops but water is still needed, you still have a bucket full of water you can use wherever it’s required. The same goes for batteries: instead of water, you store electrical energy and deploy it whenever and wherever it’s needed.
What role do battery storage systems already play today, and what can they do that many might not know?
Max: Today, battery storage systems are mainly used to stabilize the grid in the short term. They also help shift renewable energy from wind and solar into the hours with the highest consumption – usually early mornings and late evenings.
What many don’t know: weather forecasts for wind and solar are still quite uncertain, even though renewable energy production depends on them. Batteries can help minimize or even completely compensate the gap between expected and actual production. This saves money – not just for operators and traders, but ultimately for customers too.
Is there a project or installation you’re particularly proud of?
Max: Before moving into operations, I helped develop the battery storage system at the Bruchsal solar park as project manager and brought it into operation. Because of that – and because I live in Bruchsal – it’s something very special to me.
Battery technology is evolving rapidly. Where do you think the journey is heading in the coming years?
Max: Sodium-ion batteries will definitely become part of the picture. We’re currently building our first large-scale storage system using this technology at the Gundelsheim solar park. Because of their versatility, batteries will become even more important for grid stability – which is something that benefits society as a whole.
What motivates you personally to work in such a forward-looking field?
Max: The challenges that come with a complex system setup, the dynamic range of applications (we use batteries not only at PV and wind farms but also at conventional power plants and charging stations), and the scalability. Batteries need less space compared to other technologies, and modular designs make ever larger systems feasible.
Looking ahead: What do you hope to change or impact with your work?
Max: There’s still a myth that batteries explode easily. Education helps here: we use multiple battery management systems and software-based methods to detect anomalies long before anything happens. I can actively contribute to making sure nothing does happen – and if something does, I can help prevent risks to people or the environment. I hope that, one day, a clear and realistic understanding of the safety of batteries will be widely established.
And finally: describe your job in three words.
Max: It would be funny if I said “explosive” here, right? Varied and forward-looking.