VPI, Quantitas Energy plan 500 MW German battery storage

British energy company VPI and Quantitas Energy, based in Norway, have founded a joint venture (JV) to build battery storage facilities in Germany with a total 500 MW of rated power and 1 GWh capacity.

As the companies announced on Sep. 13, 2024, they want to become a leading developer and operator of battery storage facilities in Germany. Reuters news agency reported the JV plans to invest up to €450 million over three to five years. The plan is to build 10 projects, mainly in northeastern Germany, with the majority of projects being of 60 MW scale.

“The use of batteries is still in its infancy in Germany, with less than 2 GWh [of storage capacity] online,” said the VPI statement.

German research body the Fraunhofer Institute has estimated the country will need around 100 GWh of flexible power in its energy system by 2030, to enable 80% of energy to come from renewables. Around two-thirds of that flexible capacity is expected to come from utility-scale batteries.

VPI said it has 3.5 GW of electricity generation capacity and is Ireland’s largest battery storage system operator.

“Quantitas Energy has built up a project pipeline and close relationships with key German stakeholders such as property owners, municipalities, and distribution system operators,” said VPI Managing Director (MD) Jorge Pikunic. “Together we can help develop the infrastructure necessary for the energy transition in Germany.”

Theodor Borsche, , MD, and CEO of Quantitas Energy, thanked property owners, network operators, municipalities, and other partners in the German states of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Brandenburg, and Hesse for their support. “We identified Germany as the key market for flexibility early on,” he said. “With ‘VPI FlexKraft’ we want to develop and expand our pipeline of several hundred megawatts of projects as well as our other leads on the German and [wider] European market.”

From pv magazine Deutschland.