ENGIE
ENGIE starts construction of one of Europe's largest battery parks in Belgium

On July 5, ENGIE began construction of one of Europe's largest Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) at its Vilvoorde site in Belgium. This milestone follows the project's construction permit in July 2023 and its selection for capacity remuneration in October 2023.

With an installed capacity of 200 MW on a 3.5-hectare site, BESS Vilvoorde will be able to store 800 MWh of energy in 320 battery modules measuring 25 m x 4 m x 3 m, and release it to the grid for four hours. Equivalent to 160,000 5 kWh domestic batteries, it will cover the electricity consumption of 96,000 households. The battery park has a 15-year contract with Elia, the national grid operator.

BESS Vilvoorde will be launched in two phases, with the commissioning of 100 MW of batteries in September 2025, and a further 100 MW in January 2026. ENGIE is also developing two other BESS projects in Belgium for which the Group has already obtained permits, in Kallo (100MW / 400 MWh) and Drogenbos (80MW / 320 MWh).

The BESS Vilvorde project is in line with the Group's commitment to developing large-scale flexibility solutions, an essential link in the integration of renewable energy production. It will contribute to ENGIE's goal of achieving 10 GW of installed battery capacity worldwide by 2030.

Sébastien Arbola, Executive Vice President in charge of Flex Gen & Retail activities, commented: "With the growing share of renewable energies in the energy mix, the contribution of Battery Energy Storage Systems to ensuring the reliability and security of energy systems is becoming crucial. Batteries will enable the absorption of peaks in renewable energy production, and the release of this energy when production is lower and consumption higher. These flexibility solutions will thus help accelerate the development of renewable energies and the energy transition."

At December 31, 2023, ENGIE had 1.3 GW of battery capacity in operation and 3.6 GW secured under development.