Europe’s biggest battery project – 640MWh – approved in the UK

The UK government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has granted planning consent to Edinburgh-headquartered energy company InterGen to begin building the largest battery storage project in the UK and Europe, and one of the largest in the world.

InterGen says the £200 million battery will be located at DP World London Gateway on the Thames Estuary, and will deliver at least 320MW/640MWh, and the potential to increase that to as much as 1.3GWh.

If expanded to 1.3GWh, the battery project would dwarf its competitors in the UK by up to ten times the largest battery currently in operation in the UK. Currently, in the UK, the largest operational battery provides 75MWh.

“We are delighted to have been granted consent by BEIS for the Gateway project,” said InterGen CEO Jim Lightfoot.

“Our mission is to deliver the flexible electricity solutions that everyone relies on in a low-carbon world, and this project is a major statement of intent.

“We are excited to be entering a new phase in our growth as an organisation and will continue to explore opportunities to develop projects which can support the energy transition.”

The Gateway battery project could end up powering up to 300,000 UK homes for two hours, however, this is only a marketing figure, as the project is expected to be primarily used to support and stabilise existing electricity supplies.

Construction on the Gateway battery project is expected to begin in 2022 and become operational in 2024.

The Gateway battery is not the only battery project in InterGen’s sights, as the company is also eyeing a separate large battery project at its site in Spalding, Lincolnshire, which could boast capacity of 175MW/350MWh. Planning permissions for this project are already underway.