Norwegian-German system integrator Eco Stor is planning to construct a massive battery energy storage system (BESS) with a capacity of 300MW/600MWh in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. This ambitious project, expected to be completed in 2025, will be one of the largest of its kind in Europe. The managing director of Eco Stor, Georg Gallmetzer, revealed that the project will require an investment of around €250 million (US$280 million). Construction is scheduled to begin next year at the site in Förderstedt.
The chosen location for the BESS has an existing substation, which is crucial for the large grid connection required for the project. It falls within the service territory of 50 Hertz, one of Germany’s major transmission system operators (TSOs). The project will consist of six ECO STOR ES-50C block configurations, each with a capacity of 50MW/100MWh. Each block will include a 110kV substation, 16 containers for inverters and transformers, and 32 containers for lithium-ion batteries.
Currently, a preliminary building permit application is being processed, and a decision is expected in the coming weeks. Eco Stor operates in both Norway and Germany and has Agder Energi Venture and Klaveness Marine Holdings as its main shareholders. The company has recently implemented projects for investment firm Obton and utility Verbund in Germany, both of which were initially developed by Kyon Energy.
This upcoming project will surpass the capacity of the largest operational battery energy storage system in Germany, which is a 72MW facility in Werne owned by RWE. However, RWE is also constructing two new BESSs in North Rhine-Westphalia that will exceed this capacity. The first will have a capacity of 80MW/84MWh, while the second will be even larger with a capacity of 140MW/151MWh. Both are scheduled for commissioning in 2024.
In terms of energy capacity, the largest operational BESS in Europe is a 196MWh project commissioned by investor Harmony Energy in the UK in late 2022. According to Eco Stor’s data, Germany currently has over 1GW of grid-scale BESS online. While the residential and commercial & industrial segments of the battery storage market have seen significant growth, grid-scale projects have only recently started to gain momentum in the past year or two.
