Germany Launches the Country’s Largest Energy Storage Facility

Germany’s Largest Battery Storage System Inaugurated in Bollingstedt

In the town of Bollingstedt, located in Schleswig-Holstein, the largest battery energy storage system in Germany has been officially inaugurated. The facility, with a power output of 103.5 MW and a capacity of 238 MWh, was developed by the German-Norwegian company Eco Stor GmbH in cooperation with EPW GmbH. It is now becoming a cornerstone of energy security and grid stability in northern Germany.

Green Power on Demand
The new storage system is capable of powering up to 170,000 multi-person households for two hours. Thanks to its strategic location near a transformer station and in a region with high wind energy production, it can effectively store renewable energy surpluses and feed them back into the grid during peak demand hours. It thereby fulfills its intended function in an optimal way.

The Bollingstedt battery consists of 64 containers with lithium-ion batteries and 32 containers housing inverters and transformers. The system operates fully automatically, responding in real time to signals from the day-ahead and intraday electricity markets. It also supports the capacity market and ancillary services.

Reducing Costs and Emissions
The installation features intelligent algorithms and a digital twin of the grid. This enables optimal decisions on when to charge and discharge the batteries. As a result, the storage system not only relieves grid congestion and reduces wasted renewable energy, but also lowers costs for end users.

How does this work in practice? An analysis examined an example from December 12, 2024, when a so-called “dark lull” occurred in the evening. Had the Bollingstedt battery system already been in operation, it could have lowered wholesale electricity prices by €36/MWh. Taking charging costs into account, this could have resulted in savings of around €1 million in just one hour.

Policy, Industry, and Climate
During the opening ceremony, Schleswig-Holstein’s Minister for Energy Transition, Tobias Goldschmidt, emphasized the multi-dimensional significance of the investment: “Storage systems like the one in Bollingstedt are the foundation of the green transition. They stabilize the grid, increase the share of renewables, reduce energy costs, and make the transition economically viable for both industry and municipalities.”

Georg Gallmetzer, Managing Director of Eco Stor, added: “Electric grids can transport electricity over distance, but not through time. Our storage systems eliminate that barrier — they store energy when it’s cheap and available to use it when it’s most needed.”

Further Infrastructure Expansion
In the neighboring municipality of Schuby, Eco Stor is already constructing another battery system of nearly identical scale – 103.5 MW / 238 MWh. The company ultimately plans to build 2 GW of storage capacity across Germany. Planned projects include installations in Trossingen (300 MW / 716 MWh) and Foerderstedt (600 MWh).

All of the mentioned investments are fully private, with no government support. Among Eco Stor’s strategic partners are X-ELIO (part of Brookfield), Nature Infrastructure Capital (NIC), and Norwegian energy company Å Energi.

Source: ess-news.com