50MW/100MWh UK battery project begins construction through EDF-owned developer Pivot Power

By Alice Grundy
LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email
Pivot Power’s co-founder, chief operating officer and chief technical officer Mikey Clark (left) with local politician, Councillor Steve Melia, at the site. Image: Pivot Power.

EDF-owned UK battery storage developer-investor Pivot Power has started work on a 50MW/100MWh battery storage facility as part of its second Energy Superhub project in the country.

The Superhub network is designed to deliver up to 2GW of transmission-connected battery storage and high-volume power connections across the UK.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Enjoy 12 months of exclusive analysis

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Annual digital subscription to the PV Tech Power journal
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

This latest battery – located in Sandwell, northwest of Birmingham, England – is to be connected to the transmission network at National Grid’s Bustlehome substation, helping to integrate more renewable energy and increase the resiliency of the electricity system by automatically charging and discharging to balance supply and demand and manage intermittency.

The Sandwell battery energy storage system (BESS) will also enable mass-scale, rapid electric vehicle (EV) charging, with Pivot Power aiming to install a private-wire network once work has been completed on the battery.

Another similar site in Coventry is due to begin construction in early 2022 and both projects are to replicate core elements of the Energy Superhub Oxford project, which combines a 50MW hybrid battery (pairing a lithium-ion system with a smaller vanadium redox flow battery system) with what Pivot is claiming as Europe’s “most powerful” EV charging network, work on which began earlier this month.

The Oxford battery was activated earlier this year, as was a 50MW/50MWh BESS in Kemsley, Kent. Both systems are directly connected to National Grid’s high-voltage transmission networks and form part of Pivot Power’s plans to deploy up to 40 similar sites throughout the UK.

“The movement towards zero carbon energy is unstoppable and our technology provides the lynchpin to bring that to scale. Renewable energy and battery storage are complementary, interconnected and interdependent – we must have both to achieve net zero,” said Matt Allen, CEO of Pivot Power, said.

This story first appeared on Solar Power Portal.

Pivot Power CTO and COO Mikey Clark took part in an Energy-Storage.news webinar earlier this year, focusing on the role of battery storage in the UK’s journey to net zero emissions, sponsored by EDF. Watch the full session here.

Read Next

Premium
April 30, 2025
Leading BESS owner-operators in the UK have signalled their opposition to the government’s cap and floor support scheme for long-duration energy storage (LDES) in an open letter. We spoke to one its signatories James Basden, founder of Zenobē, about why.
April 30, 2025
A total of 26 battery energy storage projects in Japan have been selected for contracts through the Long-Term Decarbonisation Power Source Auction (LTDA) for 2024.
Sponsored
April 30, 2025
The commercial and industrial (C&I) energy storage market is experiencing rapid growth as industries worldwide focus on decarbonisation and energy efficiency.
April 24, 2025
Tesla’s energy storage business continued to grow in Q1 2025 even as profits and vehicle sales fell, but faces greater exposure to trade tariff risks than its automotive segment.
April 17, 2025
US non-lithium battery technology companies Eos Energy Enterprises and Unigrid have announced partnerships to deploy their tech abroad, striking deals in the UK and India respectively.

Most Popular

Email Newsletter