SINGAPORE, July 13 (Reuters) – Singapore has set up its first battery energy storage system (BESS) to manage peak consumption at the world’s largest container transhipment hub.

The project at the Pasir Panjang Terminal is part of an $8 million partnership between regulator, the Energy Market Authority (EMA) and PSA Corp, the government agencies said in a joint statement on Wednesday.

Slated to start in the third quarter, the BESS would provide energy to be used to run port activities and equipment including cranes and prime movers in a more efficient way.

The project had been awarded to Envision Digital, who developed a Smart Grid Management System that includes the BESS and solar photovoltaic panels.

The platform uses machine learning to provide real-time automated forecasting of the terminal’s energy demand, the government agencies said.

Whenever a surge in energy consumption is forecasted, the BESS unit will be activated to supply energy to help meet demand, they added.

At other times, the unit can be used to provide ancillary services to Singapore’s power grid and generate revenue.

The unit is able to improve energy efficiency of port operations by 2.5% and reduce the port’s carbon footprint by 1,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per annum, akin to removing around 300 cars off the road annually, the government agencies said.

Insights from the project will also be applied to the energy system at the Tuas Port, which will be the world’s largest fully-automated terminal, to be completed in the 2040s, they added.