Battery-Based Energy Storage: Our Projects and Achievements

Project

Europe & CIS

Electricity

Location: France, Belgium
Partners: TotalEnergies, Saft
Activities: Battery-based energy storage
Commissioning: Since 2020

129 MWh

battery-based storage capacity operated by TotalEnergies in mainland France

Map of TotalEnergies activities of battery-based energy storage in France and Belgique

We are aiming to develop 5 to 7 gigawatts (GW) of gross electricity storage capacity worldwide by 2030, thanks in particular to battery-based energy storage systems. To achieve this ambition, we are harnessing the technological expertise of our affiliate Saft. Learn more about our achievements and projects in this field.

Battery-based ESS systems are a major challenge for the future of power grids and an essential complement to renewable energies, which are intermittent by nature. Large-scale ESS systems are vital for promoting the growth of renewables and enabling them to represent a major proportion of the electricity mix. TotalEnergies is developing several projects in this area with the objective of:

ensuring that there is enough electricity in the grid, especially during the winter;
guaranteeing grid security by actively participating in the reserves used to balance national grids;
allowing more renewable electricity to be injected into the grid.

Learn how ESS systems work with the infographic

Developing battery-based ESS systems in France

In February 2020, TotalEnergies was awarded 129 megawatts (MW) of battery-based storage capacity in France as part of a call for tenders issued by the French Electricity Transmission System Operator (RTE).

Three years later and all the ESS facilities have been installed and connected to absorb or inject energy in line with the needs of the power grid. The entire system is operated from a single control station with the ability to deploy the 129 MW all at once if needed.

By commissioning these facilities, TotalEnergies is one of the first companies to bring its ESS systems into service while addressing the requirements of RTE's long-term calls for tenders. These calls for tenders are focused on developing new ESS solutions that are more virtuous, flexible and effective at ensuring security of supply and meeting the expectations of the European Commission.

Our ESS solutions are spread across several facilities housed at three sites within the Company, namely Dunkirk, Carling and Grandpuits. Our sites comprise containers of lithium-on batteries designed and assembled by Saft, which deliver some of the highest energy performance levels in the market, both in terms of density and longevity (lifecycle up to 20 years).

Dunkirk: home to France's largest battery-based ESS facility

In December 2021, we commissioned the first of these facilities at the Flanders center in Dunkirk. Featuring 27 containers, each with a storage capacity of 2.5 MWh, it can maintain power for over 200,000 homes for one hour. With a total storage capacity of 61 MWh, this is the largest battery-based energy storage site in France.

Watch the video of the Dunkirk site

25 MWh at the Carling multi-energy site

The battery-based ESS facility at the Carling platform came on stream in May 2022 and comprises 11 battery containers. The facility has a storage capacity of 25 MWh, thereby reinforcing our multi-energy strategy at the platform, which is diversifying its activities through electricity production and storage, in addition to its hydrocarbon resin and polymer production units.

43 MWh at the future Grandpuits zero-crude platform

The battery-based ESS facility at the Grandpuits platform was commissioned in March 2023 with a capacity of 43 MWh and builds on the platform's electricity generation system, which includes two solar power plants of 28 and 24 MWp respectively.

In Belgium, two battery-based energy storage projects

In May 2023, we launched our largest European battery-based energy storage project at the Antwerp platform in Belgium. With its 40 containers, the site will develop a capacity of 75 MWh, which is equivalent to the daily consumption of almost 10,000 homes. It will be operational by the end of 2024 and will contribute 24/7 to the needs of the European and Belgian high-voltage transmission network.

In April 2024, we announced the launch of a new battery-based project in the country, at our depot in Feluy, with a start-up expected at the end of 2025. It will have a power rating of 25 MW and capacity of 75 MWh, thanks to the forty “Intensium Max High Energy” lithium-ion containers supplied by Saft.

These two projects, which represent a global investment of nearly €70 million, will bring TotalEnergies' storage capacity in Belgium to 50 MW / 150 MWh.