EPC and developer Eco Stor has broken ground on a 238MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) in Germany, one of several to have been claimed as the largest in the country.
A groundbreaking ceremony for the 103MW/238MWh BESS project in Bollingstedt, Schleswig-Holstein, with company executives and local stakeholders was held on 19 April.
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The 1.2 hectare project on the Gammelund industrial park will comprise of two of Eco Stor’s ‘Eco Stor ES-50C’ BESS array configuration, each of which will include a 110kV substation, 16 inverter and transformer containers and 32 containers with lithium-ion batteries.
The project is one of several large-scale BESS projects being developed across Germany by Eco Stor, a German-Norwegian firm which was recently acquired by investors X-ELIO and NIC. Several of these projects are 300MW/600MWh systems, part of its ‘Eco Power’ series, on which the company aims to start building the first in late 2024.
The firm covers many aspects of a project’s lifecycle including early-stage development, BESS technology development and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) activities though enlists outside companies for route-to-market and optimisation once operational.
Other projects that recently claimed the title of largest in Germany include a 100MW/200MWh which started construction in late 2023 and a 275MWh one which another developer Kyon Energy got approval for around the same time.
Germany’s big renewables rollout prompted by a huge solar PV deployment target – covered regularly by our sister site PV Tech – is helping the energy storage market kick on. BloombergNEF recently forecast that by 2030 it would be the third-largest energy storage market in the world after China and the US with 62GW/109GWh of cumulative installs.
Georg Gallmetzer, managing director at Eco Stor Germany, commented: “Electricity prices are becoming increasingly sensitive to the weather. With increasing production of wind and solar power, more and larger storage systems and their balancing effect are needed. They ensure more stability in the network, affordable prices and a clean mix of renewable energy.”
