Construction group Eiffage and system integrator Entech have created a joint venture entity to design and build battery energy storage system (BESS) projects connected to the high-voltage network in France.
The joint venture (JV) will focus on the design and integration of BESS, the installation of high-voltage network substations as well as management tools and ‘battery protection’ for large-scale infrastructure projects, the France-headquartered companies said.
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The JV is targeting BESS projects connected to the 50-400kV high-voltage network in France and the pair are already involved in several projects, with upstream design work at a relatively advanced stage, they said. The target market in France is worth over €1 billion (US$1.08 billion), the announcement added.
Eiffage Énergie Systèmes will own 60% of the entity while Entech will own 40%, but governance will be equally shared. Eiffage Énergie Systèmes is focued on the electrical, industrial, HVAC and energy systems and facility industry, while the wider group is active in all types of construction markets.
Both JV companies already have a presence in the energy storage market. Entech last year won a public tender for 50MWh of BESS projects in France with public utilities in Isère and Savoie in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, and Loiret and Val d’Oise near Paris, as reported by Energy-Storage.news.
Two years ago, we reported on a BESS project in Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire) that Eiffage Énergie Systèmes was building for state-owned electricity management group CI-Energies as well as a ship-to-shore BESS solution at a port in Toulon, southern France (via a separate subsidiary).
Further upstream, the Eiffage group is also part of the consortium building a lithium-ion gigafactory in France for Automotive Cells Company (ACC), a JV between automotive groups Stellantis and Mercedes-Benz and battery technology firm Saft (itself part of oil and gas major TotalEnergies).
BESS projects directly connected to high-voltage transmission networks are less common than ones connected to lower-voltage distribution networks, but have grown in prominence.
The construction, software and infrastructure requirements to connect to the high-voltage network may be higher, but can bring greater visibility in system operator control rooms and a more reliable grid connection than distribution network projects.
