Q Energy starts building 35MW/44MWh BESS in France

LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email

The European renewable energy IPP arm of Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group, Q Energy, has started building one of the largest battery energy storage system (BESS) projects in France.

The 35MW/44MWh BESS will be built at the Emile Huchet power plant site in the the town of Saint-Avold, in the northeast of the country, and will be one of the largest in France when completed, Q Energy said.

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

The project, called Merbette, will comprise 24 containerised BESS units though the technology provider was not revealed.

Its deployment is part of a decarbonisation of the fossil fuel site by owner GazelEnergie, an operator of fossil fuel power plants across France.

The 44MWh energy storage project will be installed on the Emile Huchet power plant site in the northeast of France. Once commissioned, it will be one of the largest facilities in the country. Q ENERGY is currently driving a development pipeline of more than 1GW of energy storage projects across Europe.

Sang Chull Chung, CEO of Q Energy, said the project is the first of a 1GW pipeline of BESS the company is preparing across Europe, of which 400MW will be in France alone.

Another, similarly-sized BESS in France was recently commissioned also at a fossil fuel site as part of its decarbonisation. Oil and gas major TotalEnergies commissioned a 44MW BESS at its Grandpuits oil refinery, near Paris, along with a 28MW solar PV array, in March 2023. A few months later it enlisted BESS provider Saft to do the same at one of its refineries in Belgium.

Technically, the largest BESS in France is being built on one of its overseas territories, New Caledonia, with independent power producer (IPP) Akuo Energy enlisted to deliver the project.

Q Energy is the renewable energy development and IPP arm of Hanwha Group, which also owns Hanwha Qcells, a global PV module manufacturer. It is comprised of Germany-based Q ENERGY Europe GmbH and and France-based Q ENERGY France SAS, the latter of which was formed through Hanwha’s acquisition of the French development arm of RES Group.

Read Next

June 30, 2025
Globeleq and African Rainbow Energy have reached commercial close on the 612MWh Red Sands BESS in South Africa.
June 30, 2025
Energy storage is essential to capture solar and wind generation, Karnataka’s energy minister said, at the opening of the ‘first fully automated’ battery storage factory in India.
June 27, 2025
ACE Power has seen a battery energy storage system (BESS) of up to 8,000MWh in New South Wales, Australia, cleared through the EPBC Act.
June 27, 2025
The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) predicts South Australia and New South Wales could experience reliability gaps from 2026-27 and 2027-28.
June 26, 2025
Update 27 June 2025: Trianel and Luxcara responded to Energy-Storage.news’ enquiries below regarding the project timelines and the Battery Park’s planned capacities.

Most Popular

Email Newsletter