TotalEnergies to build large battery farm in Antwerp

The French petroleum giant, TotalEneries, is planning to build a large battery park next to its Antwerp refinery.

On Monday, the company announced its plans for constructing a 25 MW battery farm at its Antwerp oil refinery. With a storage capacity of 75 MWh, the battery can store enough energy to provide 10 000 families with power for a day.

Largest in Europe

TotalEnergies already has four battery projects in the pipeline in France, but the Antwerp installation will be the largest in Europe. It should be ready by the end of 2024.

TotalEnergies, the fourth-largest electricity supplier in Flanders, has only a limited production capacity, unlike Engie or Luminus.

Own storage capacity

For energy providers, it is becoming increasingly important to have their own storage capacity to absorb fluctuations in the increasing renewable production.

Now that other energy players also have an increasing need for flexible storage capacity, large battery parks are shooting up like mushrooms. Engie, among others, recently announced its construction plans for three large battery farms.

Challenge

Chris Peeters, CEO of high-voltage grid operator Elia, recently said that many of those projects aim for commissioning by the end of 2025 or later when at least five of Belgium’s seven nuclear power plants will close.

In the following winters, it will be a challenge to ensure that the lights stay on. In the meantime, the Belgian government hopes to get the youngest two nuclear power plants, Doel 4 and Tihange 3, ready more quickly for their lifespan expansion.