UK Infrastructure Bank commits £62.5 million to boost battery storage capacity across the UK

The UK Infrastructure Bank on Tuesday announced that it has committed £62.5 million to support the development of battery storage capacity in the UK. 

With the Bank's first debt transaction in battery storage, the latest investment is part of a £175 million financing deal that will support Pulse Clean Energy Ltd (PCE) to invest £1 billion towards the deployment of a 1 GW battery energy storage system (BESS) capacity across 20 sites in England, Scotland, and Wales in the next three years. The deal also includes the conversion of several existing energy generation sites into BESS facilities which will enable the UK grid to store more energy on the grid and release it when needed.

"If we are to fully harness the power of renewables, we need to vastly increase our storage capacity – by as much as six times by 2030 alone, according to National Grid estimates. By offering flexible debt financing, we will unlock further investment and accelerate the development of the UK's battery storage sector," said John Flint, CEO of the UK Infrastructure Bank.

"Alongside the climate benefits, the integration of more low-carbon power technologies could save the UK energy system billions, which in turn will lead to lower energy bills for everyone."

At present, the UK has ~5GW of storage capacity, and the National Grid estimates that up to 29GW of storage will be needed by 2030.

As part of the deal, PCE will be constructing its first synchronous condenser project under phase III of National Grid's Pathfinder programme, to help ensure grid stability in the UK.

The latest lending is expected to provide a substantial boost to the battery storage market in the UK by increasing the confidence of developers thereby ensuring rapid deployment of battery storage projects and supporting the UK Government's ambitious plan of decarbonizing the country's electricity system by 2035.

According to the bank, once complete the current portfolio pipeline will provide enough storage to save around 1.9 million tons of CO2 emissions over the lifetime of the assets – equivalent to the emissions of 28,500 homes over 15 years.