Gaelectric gains €8.3 million EU funding for CAES project

LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email

Source: Gaelectric.
Irish energy storage firm Gaelectric has been awarded an additional €8.28 million in European Union (EU) funding for its compressed air energy storage (CAES) project in Northern Ireland.

The funding comes from the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF).

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

Gaelectric’s 330MW CAES project, near the port town of Larne in Northern Ireland, will store energy in the form of compressed air in especially engineered caverns within geological salt deposits at depths of around 1.5 kilometres below ground level.

On completion, the Larne facility will provide generation capacity of 330MW for periods of up to eight hours, enough to meet the electricity needs of over 200,000 homes, the company said.

Gaelectric received a separate EU grant of €6.5 million for the work in July 2015, covering front-end engineering and design. The latest award is for the drilling of an appraisal well, and studies into the structure of the project.

The European Commission said the project, one of nine recommended for financing under the EU’s CEF programme, will “increase energy security and help end the isolation of EU countries from EU-wide energy networks.”

A total of €263 million has been earmarked for the nine CEF trans-European energy infrastructure projects.

“It will be the first in a pipeline of CAES projects which Gaelectric is developing across the rest of the UK and into Europe, each designed to help system operators meet generation needs and the challenges of increasing renewable generation being connected to Europe’s power systems,” said Keith McGrane, head of energy storage at Gaelectric.

“Northern Ireland and Larne will be the vanguards for safe, flexible and technologically advanced energy storage.”

Gaelectric struck a deal with electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla last year to joint test utility-scale storage to facilitate the integration of renewables onto the grid.

23 September 2025
Warsaw, Poland
The Energy Storage Summit Central Eastern Europe is set to return in September 2025 for its third edition, focusing on regional markets and the unique opportunities they present. This event will bring together key stakeholders from across the region to explore the latest trends in energy storage, with a focus on the increasing integration of energy storage into regional grids, evolving government policies, and the growing need for energy security.
1 October 2025
Asia
By 2026, the Asia-Pacific region is forecast to contribute 68% of the projected $10.84 billion market. Over the past decade, Asia has fortified its grids with batteries that enable smart grids, renewable integration, responsive electricity markets, and ancillary services. In this rapidly evolving landscape, Energy Storage Summit Asia is your guide to this burgeoning market. Now in its second year, the Summit gathers independent generators, policymakers, banks, funds, offtakers, and cutting-edge technology providers and clarifies what successful energy storage procurement and deployment strategies look like. Topics covered include macro-level policy, supply chain dynamics, financing strategies, co-location considerations, safety measures, microgrid insights and more.

Read Next

Premium
May 21, 2025
ESN Premium speaks with Dr. Yinghuang Ji, head of structuring at MN8 Energy, on current challenges and opportunities for growth in the energy storage market.
May 9, 2025
The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) staff has announced recommendations for the state’s first energy storage procurement.
May 8, 2025
Governor of Virginia, US, Glenn Youngkin, has vetoed legislation aimed at raising energy storage targets in the state.
May 7, 2025
AEMO has revealed a big increase in battery energy storage system (BESS) output in Australia’s National Electricity Market (NEM).
May 6, 2025
Energy storage developer-operator Aypa Power has secured a US$1.05 billion credit facility, upsizing its corporate credit facility closed in July of 2024, to accelerate the deployment of its pipeline.

Most Popular

Email Newsletter