TotalEnergies launches 25MW/75MWh battery farm in Belgium

French energy major, TotalEnergies on Monday launched a battery farm at its Antwerp refinery in Belgium.

The 25 MW/75 MWh capacity energy storage project is the largest battery energy storage project installation in Europe by the company, and is equivalent to the daily consumption of nearly 10,000 households, TotalEnergies stated.

"This first storage project in Belgium – our largest in Europe – will help ensure the stability of the Belgian and European grids to allow for greater development of renewable energies. It fits in perfectly with the multi-energy strategy of TotalEnergies," said Olivier Jouny, Senior VP Integrated Power at TotalEnergies.

The batteries, 40 Intensium Max High Energy lithium-ion containers, will be supplied by Saft -- the battery subsidiary of TotalEnergies. The installation will be operational by the end of 2024 and will meet the needs of Belgian and the European high voltage transmission network round the clock.

The project will help support smoothing power fluctuations in the Belgian national grid, particularly during the peak winter periods. It will also ensure grid security by actively participating in the national grid's reserve services and will allow more renewable energy to be integrated into the grid.

"It is a new step in TotalEnergies' development of battery energy storage systems (BESS) which strengthens the company's presence across the entire electricity value chain in Belgium (production, storage, supply)," the company said in its official release.

TotalEnergies will continue to use Saft's battery energy storage system expertise and deploy the energy storage systems in countries where it is actively developing renewable energy projects – including supporting the growth of RE in Europe's energy mix. Recently, TotalEnergies commissioned four battery parks in France offering a total energy storage capacity of 130 MWh.

TotalEnergies is committed to building itself as a multi-energy company, and in the coming years, it will be increasing its investments in low-carbon energies. In 2022, TotalEnergies' investments totaled $16.3 billion, including $4 billion in low-carbon energies. In 2023, the figure is expected to grow to $5 billion dollars. This investment will exceed the projected capital expenditure of the company's new oil and gas projects ($4.5 billion).