TotalEnergies launches France's largest battery based energy storage

TotalEnergies has fully commissioned a 61-MW/61-MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) at its Flandres centre in Dunkirk, France – the largest battery-based energy storage facility in the country.

The BESS is made up of 27 containers of 2.5 MWh, designed and assembled by the company's battery affiliate Saft. The milestone comes after the first 25-MW unit was switched on in January 2021.

TotalEnergies was awarded battery storage capacity in the long-term call for tenders launched by French transmission system operator RTE in February 2020. The Flandres BESS project was among the selected at the time.

With the commissioning of this project, TotalEnergies is contributing to ensuring sufficient electricity supply in the national grid, especially during peak winter periods, the company said in a statement.

It is also guaranteeing grid security by providing fast reserve services and supporting the production of renewable energy by allowing more green electricity to be integrated into the grid.

"We are proud of the commissioning of the largest storage site in France and to be able to support RTE, the grid operator, in guaranteeing the stability of the grid and thus enabling the increased development of renewable energies", said Vincent Stoquart, Senior Vice President Renewables at TotalEnergies. "With the success of this project and Saft’s expertise in batteries for energy storage, TotalEnergies intends to deploy its storage solutions in countries where the Company is actively developing renewable energies".