Vattenfall says it has cleared its largest battery project to date for construction in Brunsbüttel
The facility will combine 254 MW of power with up to 1,000 MWh of battery storage capacity
It is expected to change the role of the former nuclear site as it moves toward new energy infrastructure
Vattenfall, the state-owned energy group from Sweden, is set to build a 254 MW battery energy storage system (BESS) on the site of the former Brunsbüttel Nuclear Power Plant in Germany which is currently being decommissioned.
The Brunsbüttel site has been undergoing a transition since the nuclear plant was permanently shut down in 2007. Vattenfall said the existing land and grid connection are being used to support new energy infrastructure at the site, including its battery storage system.
Vattenfall has taken the final investment decision (FID) to build the battery storage facility in Brunsbüttel. It will be the company’s largest battery project to date. The Brunsbüttel project will nearly double the power capacity of its current battery portfolio, which stands at 270 MW.
The facility will have storage capacity of up to 1,000 MWh. Vattenfall plans to construct the battery along with a new substation and connect it to the 380 kV transmission grid operated by 50Hertz. The project is expected to be completed and commissioned by the end of 2028.
According to the Swedish company, the project is among the larger battery storage developments in Germany. The facility will help balance electricity supply and demand as wind and solar generation expands in the country.
“The more wind and solar energy are expanded, the more important high-performance storage systems like this one become to increase security of supply and replace fossil energy imports,” said Claus Wattendrup, Head of Solar & Batteries at Vattenfall.
Germany’s transmission system operators expect the installed capacity of large-scale battery storage to exceed 80 GW by 2040, according to the Swedish company.
Vattenfall is also expanding its battery optimization business. It manages and markets storage capacity for third-party owners and plans to increase the battery portfolio it optimizes to as much as 1,500 MW by 2029.
