TradVolt › Use-Cases › Cold-Chain ESS 1 MWh EU
Segment: EU cold-chain logistics (refrigerated warehousing + last-mile hubs). System: 1 MWh / 500 kW LFP BESS (reference family: CATL EnerC / LFP liquid-cooled containerised ESS family; PCS reference family: Sungrow ST500CP / Huawei LUNA2000-500KTL PCS class — exact SKU at RFQ). Duty: peak-shaving of compressor and blast-freezer loads + 4–10 h cold-room backup.
For a 1 MWh / 500 kW LFP BESS in EU cold-chain logistics over a 10-year horizon at 8.00% discount rate, computed on 2026-09-22 from the scenario model, the project is uneconomic under the modelled operating profile: NPV = −€398,803, discounted payback = none, simple payback = none, LCOS = €0.1969/kWh. The headroom is structurally negative because modelled operating benefits (peak-shaving + energy arbitrage at the assumed €/kWh band and 92% AC-AC RTE) do not recover the capex + throughput + O&M cost stream within 10 years. Limitation: results are for the computed base scenario only; capex, tariff, cycle, DoD and demand-charge inputs are bounded assumptions listed in §2, not site-specific measurements.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Reference equipment | 1 MWh / 500 kW LFP BESS (CATL EnerC-class LFP containerised ESS; Sungrow ST500CP-class PCS) — exact SKU confirmed at RFQ |
| Location / duty | EU cold-chain logistics (refrigerated warehousing + last-mile hubs); peak-shave + 4–10 h backup |
| Horizon | 10 years |
| Discount rate (assumption) | 8.00% |
| NPV (EUR) | -398,802.89 |
| Simple payback | None |
| Discounted payback | None |
| LCOS (EUR/kWh) | 0.1969 |
| Total discounted cost / PV of costs (EUR) | 363,488.77 |
| Total discounted benefit (EUR) | -35,314.12 |
| Evidence date | 2026-09-22 |
Decision: do not proceed on this operating profile alone. Re-run with site-specific tariff band, confirmed demand-charge component, and validated DoD/cycle envelope before RFQ. Submit an RFQ to TradVolt for a binding vendor offer on the reference family.
The reference system is a 1 MWh nameplate / 500 kW PCS LFP battery energy storage system (BESS) sized to back up EU cold-chain hubs (~1,200 m³ refrigerated space each) during grid outages of 4–10 hours and to shave demand peaks from compressor and blast-freezer loads. Equipment families are named so that buyer can request equivalent SKUs at RFQ: CATL EnerC / EnerC-Plus liquid-cooled LFP containerised ESS family (see CATL energy storage landing — model pages JS-rendered, exact SKU confirmed at RFQ), and a Sungrow ST500CP-class 500 kW PCS / Huawei LUNA2000-500KTL-class 500 kW PCS (see Sungrow and Huawei FusionSolar landings — same caveat). UN 38.3 transport certification is referenced for the lithium cell provisions per UN Manual of Tests and Criteria (UN ST/SG/AC.10/11/Rev.7), and the system falls under EU Battery Regulation 2023/1542 (Regulation (EU) 2023/1542) for collection, recycling and embedded-carbon disclosure.
| Input | Value | Unit | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Battery capex (turnkey, 1 MWh / 500 kW LFP) | 320,000 | € | Model assumption (capex input). Reference band: see CATL ESS and Sungrow product pages for current pricing — exact at RFQ. |
| DoD (depth of discharge) | 90 | % | Model assumption (typical operating DoD for LFP at 1C, per cell vendor datasheets — exact per chosen SKU at RFQ) |
| Usable energy per cycle | 900 | kWh | Derived: 1 MWh × 90% DoD |
| Cycles per year | 330 | cycles/yr | Model assumption (EU cold-chain duty profile, ~1 cycle/day) |
| Round-trip efficiency | 92 | % | Model assumption (AC-AC, per Sungrow ST500CP / Huawei LUNA2000-500KTL class datasheets — exact per chosen PCS SKU at RFQ) |
| Electricity tariff (blended grid) | 0.22 | €/kWh | Model assumption (EU non-household consumer band). Reference dataset: Eurostat nrg_pc_205 — electricity prices for non-household consumers. |
| Demand charge | 60 | €/kW·month | Model assumption (EU DSO medium-voltage commercial tariff band) — confirm against buyer's site DSO tariff schedule |
| Peak shaved (compressor + freezer) | 180 | kW | Model assumption (cold-chain compressor cluster, blast freezer batch duty) |
| O&M (annual % of capex) | 1.8 | %/yr | Model assumption (utility-scale BESS O&M reference band) |
| Escalation (annual) | 3.0 | %/yr | Model assumption (energy + demand line escalation) |
| Discount rate | 8.00 | %/yr | Model assumption (project finance reference) |
| Residual value | 0 | € | Model assumption (no salvage assumed at year 10) |
| Degradation (capacity fade) | 2.0 | %/yr | Model assumption (LFP throughput fade; reflected in year-on-year kWh figures in §3) |
| Horizon | 10 | years | Model assumption (standard commercial LFP warranty horizon) |
All numeric inputs above are bounded defaults the draft did not state (discount_rate, residual_value, degradation_pct_per_year, value_per_kWh_discharged are explicit bounded assumptions). Re-run with site-specific tariff band, validated demand-charge component and validated cycle envelope before procurement.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Currency | EUR |
| Horizon (years) | 10 |
| Discount rate | 8.00 % |
| Total undiscounted cost (EUR) | 386,031.94 |
| Total discounted cost / PV of costs (EUR) | 363,488.77 |
| Total undiscounted benefit (EUR) | -51,967.23 |
| Total discounted benefit (EUR) | -35,314.12 |
| NPV (EUR) | -398,802.89 |
| IRR | n/a |
| Simple payback (year) | — |
| Discounted payback (year) | — |
| LCOS (EUR/kWh) | 0.1969 |
| Year | Cost (EUR) | Benefit (EUR) | Net (EUR) | Discount factor | Discounted net (EUR) | Energy (kWh) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 320,000.00 | 0.0000 | -320,000.00 | 1.00 | -320,000.00 | 0.0000 |
| 1 | 5,760.00 | -5,681.74 | -11,441.74 | 0.9259 | -10,594.20 | 297,000.00 |
| 2 | 5,932.80 | -5,568.10 | -11,500.90 | 0.8573 | -9,860.17 | 291,060.00 |
| 3 | 6,110.78 | -5,456.74 | -11,567.53 | 0.7938 | -9,182.68 | 285,238.80 |
| 4 | 6,294.11 | -5,347.61 | -11,641.71 | 0.7350 | -8,557.01 | 279,534.02 |
| 5 | 6,482.93 | -5,240.66 | -11,723.59 | 0.6806 | -7,978.88 | 273,943.34 |
| 6 | 6,677.42 | -5,135.84 | -11,813.26 | 0.6302 | -7,444.36 | 268,464.48 |
| 7 | 6,877.74 | -5,033.13 | -11,910.87 | 0.5835 | -6,949.88 | 263,095.19 |
| 8 | 7,084.07 | -4,932.46 | -12,016.54 | 0.5403 | -6,492.16 | 257,833.28 |
| 9 | 7,296.60 | -4,833.81 | -12,130.41 | 0.5002 | -6,068.22 | 252,676.62 |
| 10 | 7,515.49 | -4,737.14 | -12,252.63 | 0.4632 | -5,675.34 | 247,623.09 |
Tables above are the only computed mathematics on this page. Discounted payback and simple payback are marked "—" because the cumulative discounted and undiscounted benefit streams do not recover the year-0 capex within the 10-year horizon.
Request a binding offer for a 1 MWh / 500 kW LFP cold-chain BESS from the reference families above. Lead time, warranty terms, OEM manual revision, and EU compliance documentation (Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, CE/EMC, UN 38.3 transport cert) confirmed per vendor. Submit your RFQ here.