Engie starts building 800MWh BESS in Belgium, one of Europe’s largest

LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email

Multinational utility and IPP Engie has launched construction on a 200MW/800MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) in Belgium.

The France-headquartered firm announced the start of construction in the 4-hour duration project in Vilvoorde, Belgium, on 5 July.

The 3.5 hectare site will comprise 320 battery units totalling 800MWh, each measuring 25m x 4m x 3m, though Engie hasn’t revealed which BESS provider has been enlisted for the project.

The project has a 15-year contract with the transmission system operator (TSO) in Belgium, Elia. It is being co-located with Engie’s 870MW combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant which it acquired in 2020.

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

It will be commissioned in two phases, with 100MW coming online in September 2025 and a further 100MW in January 2026. Vilvoorde is one of three large-scale projects the firm has construction permits for, along with ones in Kallo (100MW) and Drogenbos (80M), revealed in April 2023.

The projects were part of a 3.6GW pipeline of BESS projects under development which will add to its 1.3GW of already-operational assets.

The Belgium market is among the most active in Europe, with a storage-friendly grid regulatory environment and ample revenue opportunities in flexibility services, energy trading and capacity markets, where 357MW of BESS projects were awarded contracts in the most recent tender.

The largest approved project in Europe, Giga Storage’s 2.4GWh system, is being planned for there.

The country had around 372MWh of front-of-meter grid-scale BESS online as of the end of 2023, with another 140MWh coming online this year and a staggering 1.7GWh set to come online in 2025 according to data from LCP Delta provided for our Energy Storage Report earlier this year.

24 February 2026
InterContinental London - The O2, London, UK
This isn’t just another summit – it’s our biggest and most exhilarating Summit yet! Picture this: immersive workshop spaces where ideas come to life, dedicated industry working groups igniting innovation, live podcasts sparking lively discussions, hard-hitting keynotes that will leave you inspired, and an abundance of networking opportunities that will take your connections to new heights!

Read Next

August 7, 2025
US-based lithium sulfur battery firm Lyten has now acquired nearly all of the assets of failed European lithium-ion battery startup Northvolt, with this deal to buy its gigafactories in Sweden and Germany and all IP.
August 6, 2025
Pacific Green has inked a 10-year tolling agreement with ZEN Energy across three BESS in Australia, totalling 1.5GWh of capacity.
July 29, 2025
Spanish energy firm Zelestra and Portuguese utility EDP have signed what they call the “first” solar-plus-storage power purchase agreement (PPA) in the Spanish renewables market.
July 22, 2025
BESS optimisation company Enspired has recently announced expansion into Greece, Spain and Poland, but how will it approach operating across markets and what benefits will it bring? We hear from its CEO.
July 15, 2025
Utility and power firm Engie has acquired two BESS projects from Recurrent Energy in Italy, totalling 200MW of capacity.

Most Popular

Email Newsletter