Rolls-Royce Signs Latest European Battery Farm Deal

Rolls-Royce increases its European battery storage system footprint with the announcement of a battery farm in the Netherlands supplying a community of 12,000 homes.

The luxury automaker’s mtu EnergyPack QG system is on order from Battery Park Zeewolde (BPZ) to supply a large-scale battery storage system with an output of 32.6 Mw and a storage capacity of 65.2 Mw-hrs.

This deal, which affirms its presence in Tesla's battery energy storage space, follows on from a contract to build a similar energy storage farm for German energy supplier Encavis supplying 12 mw, with a storage capacity of 24 mw-hrs., for its plant in Hettstedt, Saxony-Anhalt, signed in May.

BPZ’s installation is scheduled to go into operation in summer 2025. The contract also includes a 10-year maintenance agreement, which guarantees the system's capacity will be throughout the entire term.

Rolls-Royce says the system will support BPZ’s energy trading and in-the-grid services activities. It also helps increase the stability of the Dutch electricity grid because the battery farm is being built next to the Zeewolde wind farm substation. In periods of high energy production by the turbines, electricity will be stored for later use to prevent grid overload.

Its farm could also work in tandem with a planned hydrogen plant which will produce green hydrogen for local industry. Once completed, the battery park will cover about 21,528 sq.-ft. (2,000 sq.-m), making it one of the largest battery projects in the Netherlands.