Corre Energy to deliver one of Europe’s largest battery storage facilities

Corre Energy, the Dublin-listed renewable energy storage developer, has entered into a joint venture with a Dutch company to develop its most advanced project, based in the Netherlands.

Shares in Corre Energy soared as much as 21 per cent on the deal. It comes as the company continues talks with third parties interested in making a significant “strategic investment” in the wider business.

The Irish-run but Dutch-based business struck the agreement SemperPower, a Dutch firm focused on developing, financing and operating battery energy storage systems, to deliver the project at Corre’s Zuidwending (ZW1) site in the Netherlands, the company said in a statement.

ZW1 will be capable of supplying up to 320 megawatts (MW) of electricity to the grid and is due to come on stream at the end of 2026.

The joint venture, which is being split equally between the two groups, will initially involve an investment of €7 million, with Corre Energy’s share represented by capital already invested in the project to date. Financial close is targeted for late 2025.

Capital expenditure during construction and installation will be about €300 million before delivering a recurring annual income underpinned by the project’s offtake agreement from when commercial operations are expected to begin in 2026.

Corre Energy chief executive Keith McGrane said the deal “speeds up and broadens our income profile for Zuidwending while delivering critical storage to meet future energy consumption needs”.

“This crystallisation event secures immediate investment to fund the venture followed by further payment at financial close and represents a model to realise nearer term cashflows to supplement our compressed air energy storage development,” he said.

Even after Friday’s share price surge, the stock’s stock remains down 86 per cent over the past 12 months. The company, which was down to just €1.08 million of cash at the end of last year, recently raised €2.76 million in a share sale to investors to tide it over as it continues talks with third parties interested in making a bigger investment in the business.

Other key projects include Corre’s 320MW Green Hydrogen Hub project in Denmark, another facility in the Netherlands (ZW2) and a plan to develop three compressed air energy storage plants in caverns secured last year in Germany.

Looking ahead, Mr McGrane said Corre believes batteries “could play a major role in our current and future projects”.

“It’s a model we can replicate and scale because the economics stack up, it can accelerate projects and the technology is highly complementary,” he added.

Zuidwending is located in the Netherlands, 20km from the nearest coast, close to offshore wind and solar farms, and at the centre of the country’s transitioning energy system.

The link-up comes at a time when state-owned electricity grid operator TenneT has said investment in Dutch electricity infrastructure will need to double over the next decade.