Engie announced today that it has launched construction of what promises to be one of Europe's largest battery farms at its Vilvoorde site in Belgium.

With 200 MW of installed capacity spread over a 3.5-hectare site, this gigantic battery energy storage system (BESS) will be able to store up to 800 MWh of energy in 320 battery modules and return it to the grid for four hours.

Equivalent to 160,000 5 kWh domestic batteries, it will be able to cover the electricity consumption of 96,000 households.

It will be commissioned in two stages, with the first phase of 100 MW coming on stream in September 2025, followed by a second phase of a further 100 MW in January 2026.

This battery park is linked by a 15-year contract with Elia, the national grid operator.

In a press release, Engie points out that it is developing two other BESS projects in Belgium, for which it has already obtained the necessary permits, at Kallo (100MW/400 MWh) and Drogenbos (80MW/320 MWh).

The company points out that it has set itself the target of achieving 10 GW of installed battery capacity worldwide by 2030.

By way of comparison, Engie had 1.3 GW of battery capacity in operation and 3.6 GW secured under development at the end of 2023.

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