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Researchers led by Forschungszentrum Jülich say large-scale battery systems checking their charge every minute can synchronize electricity use, producing brief, measurable grid-frequency dips. The study, published in Nature Energy, says randomizing check times could reduce the effect, though other digitally controlled devices may also contribute.
A research team led by Forschungszentrum Jülich has linked brief, regular dips in power-grid frequency to large-scale battery systems checking their state of charge every minute. The study, published in Nature Energy on October 30, 2026, reports that the synchronized checks can create measurable changes in electricity demand, a finding that could help grid operators and battery manufacturers limit avoidable equipment wear.
The phenomenon was first tracked over several years by TenneT Germany, the country’s largest transmission system operator. It observed that the frequency of the European grid briefly dipped every 60 seconds. The deviations were measurable and unusually regular, but the operator’s observations did not indicate a threat to grid security. The cause was initially unknown.
Researchers from Forschungszentrum Jülich, the University of Cologne and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology investigated the pattern. Measurements taken at 80 locations on Jülich’s Living Lab Energy Campus showed the same periodic change in electricity consumption at sites using large-scale battery storage to provide uninterrupted power. In a closer examination of one system, the team recorded an electricity-use spike at the start of each minute, which researcher Dirk Witthaut attributed to a power check.
The researchers say the pattern is not confined to Europe. Their paper, “One-minute frequency disturbances from unintended synchronization in cyber–physical power systems,” was published in Nature Energy under DOI 10.1038/s41560-026-02144-0. The study links the recurring signal to synchronized behavior across many devices, rather than to one large consumer or generator.
How Minute-Long Checks Affect Grid Equipment
The finding matters because grid frequency reflects the balance between electricity supply and demand. When many storage systems briefly draw more power at once, their combined load can register as a short-lived disturbance. The researchers say these fluctuations already affect hydroelectric power stations: turbines slow momentarily in response to demand spikes and then accelerate again, increasing wear and tear.
The study does not report that the dips have caused a grid failure or established an immediate threat to supply. Instead, it identifies a potentially avoidable source of repeated variation. As battery storage becomes more common, reducing synchronized checks could help limit unnecessary cycling of grid equipment while preserving the systems’ role in supporting uninterrupted electricity.
The scale of the signal can differ between regions. The Jülich report says that in Ireland, where large-scale battery storage associated with data centers accounts for around a fifth of electricity demand, the amplitude of the one-minute signal quadrupled between 2016 and 2021. That example illustrates how the effect may grow where storage deployment is significant; it does not by itself establish that battery checks explain every fluctuation in every grid.
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From Grid Observations to Campus Measurements
Grid frequency changes for many reasons, including electricity trading, power stations switching on or off, variable renewable generation and other disturbances. The team’s investigation began with the unusually exact 60-second rhythm. Witthaut said that regular timing suggested a process controlled by a clock, while the size of the observed effect suggested that many devices had to be acting together.
The researchers used the Living Lab Energy Campus at Jülich to examine electricity use at end-use devices across 80 measurement points. The campus is a research infrastructure for developing and testing integrated energy systems. The repeated consumption pattern appeared at locations with large-scale battery storage used for uninterrupted power. The team then inspected one such system and found the minute-start spike associated with its check.
The researchers suspect that the timing arose because there are no binding standards for when battery systems should run these checks. Witthaut said manufacturers may have independently adopted a 60-second interval and chosen the start of each minute. The article’s explanation concerns the unintended alignment of routine checks, not a deliberate attempt by operators to alter grid frequency.
“It really was years of detective work.”
— Dirk Witthaut, Forschungszentrum Jülich and the University of Cologne
Other Devices May Also Be Synchronized
The study identifies large-scale battery checks as a cause of the observed one-minute signal, but the Jülich report says batteries may be only part of the problem. It remains possible that other digitally controlled appliances run on similar schedules. The source does not quantify how much each possible device contributes across different grids.
The report also does not specify how many battery manufacturers use the same timing, or how widely systems begin checks exactly at the start of a minute. Witthaut’s explanation that manufacturers may have independently selected the interval is a suspicion, not a confirmed account of industry practice. The study does not provide a timetable for adopting randomized checks or details of any regulatory response.
Although the researchers describe the phenomenon as global, the source does not list every grid where it has been measured. It also reports no immediate threat to grid security from the observed deviations. Whether the proposed change would measurably reduce turbine wear across a full power system remains to be established.
Randomized Checks Offer a Practical Test
The proposed adjustment is to spread battery checks across different times rather than allowing many systems to begin them at the same minute boundary. The checks would continue, but their timing would be randomized to reduce the combined demand spike. The source presents this as a simple potential solution; it does not say that manufacturers or operators have adopted it.
Further work would need to establish how common minute-based checks are, whether other digitally controlled devices add to the pattern, and how much randomizing schedules changes grid-frequency fluctuations and equipment wear. The published paper provides the study’s findings, but the Jülich report does not announce a rollout plan, new standards or a follow-up deadline. Battery makers and grid operators’ responses remain unreported.
Key Questions
What causes the 60-second power-grid fluctuations?
The researchers link them to large-scale battery storage systems checking their state of charge on the same minute-by-minute schedule. Many checks occurring together can produce a brief rise in electricity use.
Did the fluctuations threaten grid security?
The Jülich report says the observed frequency deviations were measurable but did not pose a threat to grid security. It does report that repeated demand spikes can affect turbine operation and contribute to wear.
How could the effect be reduced?
Dirk Witthaut proposed distributing checks randomly instead of starting them at the same time. The report does not say that this approach has been implemented across battery systems.
Could devices other than batteries be involved?
Yes. Witthaut said it cannot be ruled out that digitally controlled appliances, including air-conditioning systems and heat pumps, may show similar patterns. Their contribution has not been quantified in the source report.
Where was the study published?
The paper, “One-minute frequency disturbances from unintended synchronization in cyber–physical power systems,” appeared in Nature Energy in October 2026. Its DOI is 10.1038/s41560-026-02144-0.
Source: fz-juelich.de
