PreFEED analysis for battery and grid design in industrial microgrids – a mining use case

Grid design and battery integration for industrial microgrids pose significant challenges due to fluctuating loads and the intermittency of renewable energy sources. Preliminary frontend engineering and design (preFEED) enables cost-effective assessments based on high-level system modelling. This study introduces a techno-economic preFEED framework tailored to industrial microgrids, with a focus on battery energy storage systems (BESS) that balance energy shifting and grid stability under uncertainty. The framework emphasizes cost-optimal operation while incorporating grid-stability considerations, drawing insights from a comprehensive meta-study on microgrid design. We apply our framework to a mining use case, in which electrification by means of renewables and battery energy systems shall reduce the carbon footprint and contribute to more sustainable mining. Our results show that complex and costly FEED design can be streamlined through an interactive and user-friendly preFEED approach, enabling early-stage techno-economic evaluations. This methodology serves as a practical entry point for site managers and facilitates informed decision-making for a transition to low-carbon industrial site operation.