It’s been a busy few weeks in the run-up to Christmas in Europe’s BESS project space, with M&A, final investment decisions (FID) and supplier deals in Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Italy, Finland, Romania and the UK totalling around 800MW of capacity.
Here’s a roundup of the past fortnight’s grid-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) action. Project owners and developers to have progressed projects forward include EDF, Deutsche Telekom, Nofar Energy, Kallima, HybriX Energy, Olana, Engie and Hyperion Renewables.
EDF Power Solutions wins 250MW Grid Booster BESS contract in Germany
EDF Power Solutions, part of the multinational utility and power firm, will deliver five 50MW BESS projects totalling 250MW for transmission system operator (TSO) Amprion, the operator’s so-called ‘decentralised Grid Booster’, for which it launched a tender last year.
The projects at key electricity nodes will support the transport of power from north to south Germany by increasing the utilisation of power lines, relieving both transmission and regional power grids, which should also reduce costs for consumers.
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The five projects will be managed by Amprion during winter while in summer EDF Power Solutions will use them for more run-of-the-mill electricity trading and ancillary service activities. EDF power solutions will remain responsible for the operation, and the maintenance of the batteries throughout their lifespan.
Nofar Energy sells 49% stake in Germany BESS
Independent power producer (IPP) Nofar Energy, meanwhile, has signed a deal to sell 49% of its 104.5MW/209MWh Stendal BESS project in Germany to local investor EB-SIM for €25 million (US$29 million).
The project is currently being built for a commercial operation date (COD) in 2026. The BESS is being provided by Chinese firm Sungrow and Nofar secured what it claimed was the first physical fixed-price toll for BESS in Continental Europe in December 2024.
Nofar said the sale means a value of €1.1 million per megawatt and reflects a return on investment of 47%.
“We have retained control of this high-quality project and have released significant capital to fund our continued rapid growth in international market,” it said on LinkedIn.
Deutsche Telekom commissions part of 300MWh rollout
Telecoms giant Deutsche Telekom has provided an update on a 300MWh behind-the-meter (BTM) rollout across its network in Germany, announced in early 2024 with supply deals with system integrators Pixii first, and then Intilion.
Deutsche Telekom and Intilion together commissioned 24MWh of BESS at the company’s Bamberg location in February 2025, and now Pixii will add another 24MWh, bringing the site’s total capacity to 48MWh.
Nine BESS units in Münster, Hanover, Munich and Bamberg are under construction, Deutsche Telekom said, with 126MWh set to be operational by the end of 2026.
Alfen, HybriX Energy sign agreement for two BESS projects in Belgium
System integrator Alfen will provide BESS developer HybriX Energy with the technology for two-large scale projects totalling 35MW/140MWh of capacity in Belgium.
The argreement in November covers the delivery and long-term maintenance of two BESS projects in Geel (Project Volta) and Massenhoven (Project Franklin).
Both systems will connect at 150kV to the Belgian transmission network operated by TSO Elia and will each comprise 30 units of Alfen’s TheBattery Elements product. Construction will start in mid-2026 with a COD expected at the end of 2027.
The projects have been awarded long-term contracts under Elia’s Capacity Remuneration Mechanism (CRM), its capacity market.
Kallima secures financing for 50MW/100MWh Belgium BESS
Financing has been secured for a 50MW/100MWh BESS in Liege, Belgium, by a company called Kallima.
It was announced in December by consultancy 3E, which provided technical due diligence for the project, though 3E didn’t say when the financing was secured. It described Kallima as an IPP, though a link provided to Kallima’s website makes it appear to be more of a general real estate development company.
The project, called Tihange, also won a CRM contract from Elia which provides 15 years of fixed revenues.
Hyperion to deploy Portugal BESS with Omexom and Saft tech
Developer-operator Hyperion Renewables will deploy two BESS projects in Portugal with engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and balance of plant (BOP) services from Omexom and BESS supplied by system integrator Saft. Saft will supply 21 of its Intensium Shift+ BESS units, grid-forming power conversion systems (PCS) and power management solution.
The projects are co-located with solar PV plants in Estremoz and Évora and together total 16MW of power and 64MW of capacity, and a combined 4-hour duration. Their operation will increase asset efficiency and reduce losses during periods of high solar output, Saft said.
Both projects have received financial support from Portugal’s EU-backed Recovery and Resilience (PRR) funding scheme for storage, with winners finalised in January 2025.
Engie buys Italy BESS from SUSI Partners
In Italy, utility and power firm Engie has acquired a 52MW BESS in Tuscany from ReFeel New Energy (RNE), part of investor SUSI Partners.
The project was developed by RNE, is ready-to-build (RTB) and has a 15-year capacity market (CM) contract won in February 2025.
Italy’s grid-scale BESS market is expected to soar now that the long-awaited first MACSE auction has concluded (in late September), securing 10GWh of capacity mainly in the south of the country. Solar Media Market Research analyst Josh Cornes wrote a recent overview of the country’s BESS pipeline, which can be read here.
Olana Energy further extends Finnish BESS fleet
In Finland, developer-operator Olana Energy has again extended its BESS plans in Finland. The firm said on LinkedIn last week that it has expanded its pipeline of projects it will own and operate in the country by the end of 2026 to 72MW.
That comes after it said in November 2025 that it had expanded that pipeline of own-operate projects to 65MW, with the decision not to sell two projects, adding to two that were already operational.
Its most recent post said that it is adding ‘three new’ projects to its portfolio bringing it to 72MW, which sounds like it has actually added one more project since November, totalling around 7MW.
The firm is deploying one project in Lithuania which is around as large as all of its Finnish ones combined, at 70MW/140MWh, with final investment decision (FID) in September and optimiser Capalo AI enlisted a month later.
Toki Power buys Romania BESS
Toki Power, part of the IPP Renalfa Group, has acquired a 150MW/300MWh BESS in Romania, it said last week. Grid-scale activity in Romania has accelerated sharply in the past year since it concluded its own Recovery and Resilience funding package for storage in November 2024, while also exempting energy storage resources from fees for charging from the grid, in mid-2025.
SSE to build 100MW Derrymeen BESS in Northern Ireland
SSE Renewables has taken a final investment decision (FID) to begin construction on a new 100MW BESS project in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.
Located beside the Tamnamore 275/110kV substation near Dungannon, the 100MW Derrymeen BESS facility will provide two hours of storage, equivalent to 200MWh. The facility will connect to the substation and will participate in the all-island integrated Single Electricity Market (SEM).
The construction of the project will follow early activities, including detailed design and procurement of key equipment such as the main grid transformer, which are already underway.
See the full version of this article on Solar Power Portal.
Additional reporting by Jonathan Touriño Jacobo.
