Vena Energy has signed a battery storage supply agreement with CATL for a project which would export renewable energy from Indonesia to Singapore.
Renewable energy developer Vena Energy announced last week (4 December) that the framework supply agreement had been signed with Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL).
Under the agreement, the China-headquartered world’s biggest manufacturer of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries would provide up to 4GWh of its EnerX battery energy storage system (BESS) solutions to Vena Energy’s local subsidiary, PT Infrastruktur Terbarukan Sedaya.
They would be used for Vena Energy’s project to directly export to Singapore electricity generated from over 2GWp of solar PV deployed on Indonesia’s Riau Islands, charging the batteries with daytime energy generation, to be then transmitted via subsea cables to the city-state.
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Vena Energy is itself headquartered in Singapore and an arm of Asia-Pacific green energy and digital infrastructure developer Vena Group. It aims to provide more than 2.6TWh of annual dispatchable clean energy generation and a ‘semi-firm supply of renewable power’ through what Vena Energy Indonesia head Rudy Sembiring called “the Indonesia-Singapore renewable energy corridor.”
The developer has partnered on the project’s development with Shell Eastern Trading, a Singapore-based subsidiary of European oil & gas major Shell.
The pair were among the developers of seven cross-border Indonesia-to-Singapore renewable energy import transmission projects awarded conditional licenses or conditional approvals by the Singapore Energy Market Authority (EMA) in September 2024.
These can be seen in the tables below.
2GW of Conditional Licenses awarded by Energy Market Authority (EMA) in September 2024:
| Company | Import capacity (GW) |
| Pacific Medco Solar Energy Pte Ltd, formed by PacificLight Renewables Pte Ltd, Medco Power Global Pte Ltd and Gallant Venture Ltd | 0.6 |
| Adaro Solar International Pte Ltd., formed by PT Adaro Clean Energy Indonesia | 0.4 |
| EDP Renewables APAC | 0.4 |
| Vanda RE Pte Ltd, formed by Gurin Energy Pte Ltd and Gentari International Renewables Pte Ltd | 0.3 |
| Keppel Energy Pte Ltd | 0.3 |
1.4GW of Conditional Approvals (the step before granting of licenses) awarded by Energy Market Authority (EMA) in September 2024:
| Company | Import capacity (GW) |
| Singa Renewables Pte Ltd, a joint venture between TotalEnergies and RGE | 1 |
| Shell Eastern Trading (Pte.) Ltd, in partnership with Vena Energy | 0.4 |
CATL to make equipment locally at West Java complex
CATL previously signed an agreement in July to supply up to 2.2GWh of EnerX BESS units to conditional licensee Vanda RE’s Vanda Solar & Battery Project, which would, like the Vena-Shell project, feature a total 4GWh energy storage capacity along with 2GWp of solar PV generation in Indonesia.
For CATL, the project deals could tie in with the company’s Southeast Asia strategies, in that Vena Energy specified equipment supplied would be manufactured at the Li-ion OEM’s new US$6 billion factory complex in West Java, Indonesia.
CATL broke ground on the vertically integrated Indonesia Battery Integration Project complex in late June, working with local partners, including state-owned initiative Indonesia Battery Corporation (IBC).
The site’s battery manufacturing facility will have an initial annual production capacity of 6.9GWh. CATL makes everything from cells to cabinets and enclosures to complete systems. EnerX is a containerised BESS solution equipped with 530Ah cells and up to 5.6MWh capacity per 20-foot container.
“By securing leading battery technology manufactured locally in Indonesia, we are supporting green development in the region while creating employment opportunities and strengthening Indonesia’s clean energy sector,” Vena Energy’s Rudy Sembiring said.
Vena Energy’s agreement with CATL follows the developer signing a framework agreement for the Indonesia-Singapore project in 2023 with Chinese solar technology company Suntech, Chinese battery cell and BESS maker Rept Battero and US-headquartered battery energy storage system (BESS) system integrator and manufacturer Powin Energy; the latter has since gone bankrupt and out of business, with nearly all of its assets bought by US rival FlexGen.
Singapore could be at core of new ASEAN grid
There are also several other projects planned that could, through cross-border imports, help meet the renewable energy needs of Singapore, which is lacking in land for developing onshore generation facilities.
The EMA is looking to import around 6GW of low-carbon electricity by 2035, revising the target upwards from 4GW, set in 2021.
Last week, our colleagues at PV Tech reported that the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) has agreed to invest in a 4GW solar, 5.12GWh energy storage complex that would take transmit from Southern Johor, Malaysia. Another project, AA PowerLink, aims to supply power to Singapore from northern Australia from nearly 20GW of solar capacity.
A report earlier this year from Rystad Energy found that Singapore could sit at the heart of a new network of regional electricity grids across Southeast Asia. Rystad Energy said interconnections with neighbouring countries could bring 25GW of renewable energy and energy storage projects online.
“Singapore stands to benefit the most from Southeast Asia’s emerging regional grid, but realising these gains will require coordinated, win-win cooperation with supplier countries, many of which may see limited direct advantage in linking up with another market,” Rystad Energy APAC renewables and power analyst Raksit Pattanapitoon said.
Yesterday, Energy-Storage.news reported that Vena Energy has begun construction of its third battery storage project in Australia, a 408MWh BESS in the rural South Australia town of Tailem Bend.
