VW Group's Elli enters large-scale stationary energy storage systems business

The Volkswagen Group has announced its entry into a new business segment with its EV charging and energy brand Elli by developing and operating large-scale stationary storage systems, together with partners along the value chain.

In the future, Elli's industrial energy storage systems will be used to supply customers and for arbitrage transactions on the electricity market. The company considers this as a transformation in its smart energy vision, by aspiring to make significant contributions to stabilizing and increasing the efficiency of the power grids. 

In the first step, individual projects with up to 350 MW of capacity and 700 MWh of storage capacity are being planned. Elli's first storage project could be set up in Germany as early as 2025. Such projects would almost double the total storage capacity installed in Germany, which currently amounts around 1 GWh, according to the company. 

"Germany and Europe need sufficient storage solutions to meet the increasing demand and to compensate for the volatile feed-in of renewable energies. Our investment in stationary battery storage systems is therefore a significant contribution to the sustainable transformation of the energy supply," said Thomas Schmall, Volkswagen Group Board Member for Technology. 

The demand for storage solutions will increase throughout Europe in the coming years, with experts expecting growth by a factor of 100 in Germany alone, the company claims. Elli cites estimates from the Fraunhofer Institute to argue that a demand for battery storage systems of over 100 GWh in the country is likely by 2030.

By entering the business of industrial energy storage, Elli aims to strengthen its strategy in the e-mobility charging and energy transition applications. "We see high financial potential in this business area and the opportunity to develop Elli into a holistic energy provider in Europe," commented Giovanni Palazzo, CEO of Elli.