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Hague-based battery builder Lion Storage has announced plans to build a colossal energy storage project in Vlissingen, the Netherlands. The project will have a power output of 364 megawatts and a capacity of 1,457 megawatt hours. This, it says, will make it the largest battery in the Netherlands. It should be ready for use in 2026.

Battery storage projects are becoming increasingly important as more of our power is generated from sources that cannot produce continuously. | Credit: Getty Images

Considerable competition is raging among battery builders, similar to that in the wind turbine market. One after another is announcing larger energy storage projects, with more and more megawatts and more megawatt hours. Not too long ago, Change Inc. wrote about the (so far) largest battery realized; built by SemperPower, with 30 megawatts of power and a capacity of 68 megawatt hours. It was already known that a planned project by developer GIGA Storage would blow well over that at 300 megawatts and 1,200 megawatt-hours.

Favorable location

The "Mufasa," Lion Storage's battery project, exceeds that again with 364 megawatts and a capacity of 1,457 megawatt hours. The company wants to build its battery in the North Sea port of Vlissingen. That is steadily growing into a hub of renewable energy, where large-scale (offshore) wind and hydrogen initiatives are being established. SemperPower's aforementioned battery project is also in the North Sea port. Its location is favorable in that it is easy to connect to the high-voltage grid. This makes it relatively easy to fully charge the batteries.

Big plans

The Vlissingen gigabattery is not the only thing Lion Storage is focusing on. It is also betting on other, still large, energy storage projects in North and South Holland, for example, with batteries of between 150 and 200 megawatts. Lion Storage seems to have the entire western flank of the Netherlands in mind, probably because of nearby offshore wind farms that could provide power to fill the batteries.

Importance

Battery storage projects are becoming increasingly important as more of our power is generated from sources that cannot produce continuously. Wind turbines and solar panels can only generate power when the wind is blowing and the sun is shining. But energy must also be available at those times when it is not. Batteries can fill those gaps by providing power previously stored at times of surplus.

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