320MW/640MWh battery to complement compressed air storage project in the Netherlands

Dutch renewables developers Corre Energy and SemperPower have come together to deliver a massive battery storage facility, which will be collocated with Corre’s compressed air energy storage (CAES) project in Zuidwending, in the province of Groningen, the Netherlands.

The 50/50 joint venture will initially invest EUR 7 ($7.6) million to deliver to deliver the 320 MW two-hour battery project, totalling 640 MWh.

The battery project should deliver “a near-term, additional revenue stream to the company,” while complementing its CAES plans, Corre said in a release last Friday.

Namely, the big battery will share the same grid infrastructure as Corre Energy’s planned ZW1 CAES project. The developer aims to use salt caverns at the site to build a 320 MW CAES facility with a maximum storage discharge duration of approximately 3.5 days and a target commencement date around the end of 2026. The project will be constructed as hydrogen fuel enabled from commencement.

Dutch energy supplier Eneco inked a 15-year offtake agreement for the ZW1 project in January 2023 and will optimise the entire output of the storage site on behalf of Corre Energy.

Once delivered, Corre expects the combined battery and CAES projects to create “a multi-duration energy storage hub for the area, from milliseconds to multi-day”. The company plans to explore this model across its other projects.

“Looking ahead, we believe batteries could play a major role in our current and future projects. It’s a model we can replicate and scale because the economics stack up, it can accelerate projects and the technology is highly complementary,” said Keith McGrane, CEO of Corre Energy.

Under the new partnership, the joint venture is targeting a fixed 10-12 year offtake agreement for the battery storage project which will ensure no market revenue risk. Financial close is targeted for late-2025.

Capital expenditure during construction and installation will be approximately EUR 300 million before delivering a recurring annual income underpinned by the project’s offtake agreement from when commercial operations are expected to begin in 2026, Corre said.

Local and national consultation will now take place for the battery project, with further updates on timings and details of both the battery and CAES projects to be provided in due course.

SemperPower, which is owned by renewable energy investment platform Return Energy, will provide battery infrastructure sourcing, development and operational expertise. Further responsibilities include finalising offtaker agreements and project financing with select partners, including access to “significant debt facilities”.

According to Corre, SemperPower has already undertaken offtake demand and pricing analysis, validating economic projections agreed between the parties. SemperPower has three existing battery projects operating in the Netherlands and a further pipeline backed by Return Energy.