Eku Energy enters New Zealand with 300 MW battery project acquisition

Eku Energy has acquired a 300 MW battery energy storage project in New Zealand’s Waikato region, marking its entry into the country. The project will be co-developed with local firm Helios Energy and will connect to Transpower’s Whakamaru substation. The battery’s duration or overall energy storage has not been disclosed.

While Eku has not publicly named the project’s original owner, official environment filings and fast-track consenting documents indicate that Mercury NZ Ltd was the likely developer prior to the acquisition. The relevant fast-track consenting documents list Mercury as both the applicant and landowner for a 300 MW battery project at Whakamaru. The proposed battery was to be installed on Mercury-owned land adjacent to its hydro assets, with a direct connection to the national grid via Transpower infrastructure including a new 33kV underground cable.

Mercury said received resource consent from Taupō District Council in May 2025, announced in a post on its website, adding that “we think our BESS could consist of up to 180 battery containers,” without further specifying sizing.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Financial details in the official filings were redacted for privacy.

The deal adds to a small pipeline of standalone BESS developments in the region. Harmony Energy is constructing a 100 MW system due online by mid-2026, while another 100 MW project is in early-stage design. As of June, grid operator Transpower had six connection requests for standalone BESS, 25 for solar-plus-storage projects, and one wind-plus-storage request.

Eku Energy is jointly owned by Macquarie Asset Management and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation. It targets 9 GWh of storage by 2028. The New Zealand project adds to Eku’s existing portfolio in Australia, the UK, Italy, and Japan.