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Cycle Guard - how we manage your battery’s cycles

Cycle Guard – How we manage your battery’s cycles

What is Cycle Guard and why is it important?

At Eddy Grid, we help our customers maximize the profit from their battery (also known as an ‘asset’). Profit simply means: more money must come in than goes out. That’s why we look not only at revenue, but also at costs. There are direct costs that result from using your battery, such as:

  • Electricity transport costs (e.g., variable grid transport costs, excluding kW max costs)
  • Energy costs (vary depending on your energy contract)

There are also factors we need to take into account:

  • Battery depreciation (how quickly the battery loses value and performance)
  • Warranty limitations (some batteries may, for example, only be warranted for 5,000 cycles

What is a battery cycle?

Each time a battery is charged and then discharged again, we call this one cycle. Each cycle generates revenue, but also incurs costs.

How many cycles are ideal?

More cycles per year often lead to higher revenues, but also increase wear and tear on the battery. Fewer cycles mean lower costs but also less revenue.

Therefore, it is important to find the right balance: the point at which the additional revenue is greater than the additional costs. We call this the ‘optimal number of cycles.’

Cycle guard what is a cycle

How does Eddy Grid help?

We use smart algorithms to determine what is best for each individual battery. Every battery is unique. Our software takes into account:

  • The value and lifespan of the battery
  • Specific contracts and associated costs
  • The maximum number of cycles allowed under warranty

We test this approach with simulations and implement it live as well. This ensures the battery responds optimally to price fluctuations in the energy market. The result: the best possible net returns for our customers.

A real-world example

We performed an analysis for a 1 MW / 2 MWh battery in November. It averaged 2.52 cycles per day. The revenue per megawatt from this simulation was very close to that of our actual battery operations – typically, real-world results deviate by no more than 10%.

The graph we use illustrates exactly where the optimal point lies: enough cycles to generate solid revenues, without incurring unnecessary extra costs.

Optimale aantal cycli