Dutch BESS operator Return has acquired four ready-to-build (RTB) projects in Germany, while agrifood tech and renewables investor N2OFF has added BESS to a solar project it is developing there.
The news comes after it emerged that the grid interconnection queue in Germany has over 500GW of energy storage projects in-development according to local press, far beyond what is needed.
Return buys 670MWh of German BESS capacity
BESS platform Return has acquired the projects totalling 310MW/670MWh of battery energy storage system (BESS) capacity from local developer BESSMART.
The four projects are at key 110kV grid points in Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, all in Eastern Germany and within the territory of transmission system operator (TSO) 50Hertz. Commercial operation is scheduled for 2027.
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Return claimed its BESS activity is ‘creating network effects rather than isolated sites’. It said it is building a platform that enables customers across its portfolio (utilities, grid operators and industrial partners) to optimise renewable portfolios and ensure price and transmission stability.
Return was an early mover in the Dutch energy storage market with its platform SemperPower, now rebranded under its own name, which it is using going forward. Via SemperPower, it has the two largest operational BESS projects in the Netherlands and is an investor in another platform, Lion Storage. Lion and Giga Storage, another platform, launched construction on 1.4GWh and 1.2GWh Dutch projects this year, respectively.
Return expanded outside of the Netherlands with the acquisition of a 4GW pipeline in Germany this time last year.
N2OFF adds BESS to solar investment in Germany
Meanwhile, agrifood tech and renewables investor N2OFF, Inc has added BESS plans to a previously-announced solar PV plant project in Germany.
It is being developed by N2OFF’s partner, Solterra Renewable Energy, which will now deploy a 107MW/214MWh BESS alongside 115MWp of solar PV capacity at the project in Melz. The solar project was approved by authorities in January 2025. N2OFF announced it was exploring adding BESS in June, but the final size is twice what it indicated then.
As part of the move, N2OFF and other lenders have provided additional funding to Solterra via an increased loan, and N2OFF is entitled to 25% of the potential profits after loan repayment. Final project approval is expected in early 2026.
Optimiser Entrix appears to have been enlisted as route-to-market (RTM) provider for the combined solar-and-storage project. N2OFF said it provided a study calculating the increased revenues from adding BESS, and quoted its head of sales, Constantin Nicklas.
“With the addition of the BESS, we expect to significantly boost project revenues through an integrated co-optimisation maximising revenues across the entire project, i.e. both solar and BESS,” Nicklas said.
N2OFF is also deploying BESS projects in Italy, also in partnership with Solterra as developer.
