Groundbreaking in Klostermansfeld: Germany's Largest Battery Storage Facility Under Construction in Saxony-Anhalt

BW ESS belongs to the family-run BW Group, a globally active energy and shipping company. The company is headquartered in Zurich and operates in five European countries as well as Australia; according to its own figures, it employs around 80 people. BW ESS currently operates storage facilities with a total capacity of a little more than 540 megawatt-hours. In Klostermansfeld, the company intends to invest more than one billion euros in Germany over the coming years, according to its own statements.

The planned operating life of the project is around 40 years; the batteries themselves are expected to last about 20 years before being replaced. Strømsø also emphasized the company's long-term strategy: „Wir sind in der Regel langfristiger Eigentümer und Betreiber all unserer Projekte“. The storage facility is to charge electricity when there is a surplus in the grid and discharge it again in the evening. „Den geladenen Strom geben wir dann am Abend wieder ab, was wiederum dazu beiträgt, die Preise für die Verbraucher zu senken“, Strømsø said.

Growing Number of Large-Scale Storage Facilities in Germany

A growing number of large-scale storage facilities in Germany. According to data from Battery-Charts at RWTH Aachen, 545 large-scale storage facilities with a capacity of at least 1,000 kilowatt-hours each are currently in operation in Germany. Total installed battery storage capacity in Germany thus stands at around 29.6 gigawatt-hours, of which 22.1 gigawatt-hours account for home storage systems, 1.6 gigawatt-hours for medium-sized facilities, and 5.9 gigawatt-hours for large-scale storage.

For comparison: Germany's pumped-storage power plants together have a capacity of 39 gigawatt-hours. Further major projects are already in planning according to data from the Federal Network Agency and Battery-Charts: In Waltrop in the Ruhr area, a storage facility with 1,800 megawatt-hours is planned; Leag and Fluence are planning a facility with 4,000 megawatt-hours in Jänschwalde in Brandenburg. By autumn 2029, additional large-scale storage facilities with a total capacity of more than 30 gigawatt-hours are to go into operation in Germany.

Function and Role for the Power Grid

Already in operation are, among others, facilities in Arzberg in northeastern Bavaria with around 200 megawatt-hours, in Krumpa in Saxony-Anhalt with around 102 megawatt-hours, in Bollingstedt in Schleswig-Holstein with 238 megawatt-hours, and in Metelen in North Rhine-Westphalia with around 231 megawatt-hours of capacity. According to Federal Network Agency figures, this means that „haben Anzahl und Leistung in den vergangenen Jahren in Deutschland stark zugenommen“.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) describes the significance of large-scale battery storage for power supply: „Aufgrund sinkender Kosten und steigender Flexibilitätsanforderungen spielt die Batteriespeicherung weltweit eine immer wichtigere Rolle in den Stromversorgungssystemen“. Transmission system operator Amprion points out that „Batteriespeicher die Netzstabilität unterstützen“ können, for example by keeping frequency, voltage, and line utilization within certain limits.

How the Business Model Works

The basic principle of such facilities is to store electricity cheaply when there is plenty of it in the grid and to discharge it when it is needed and can be sold at a profit. „Batterie-Großspeicher speichern Strom günstig ein, wenn genug da ist, und wieder aus, wenn er gebraucht wird und mit Gewinn wieder verkauft werden kann“, it is stated in this regard. For the Klostermansfeld project, according to Strømsø, this means specifically: „Für uns bedeutet das konkret, dass wir in der Regel dann laden, wenn zu viel Strom im Netz ist“.

According to its own statements, BW ESS is generally the long-term owner and operator of all its projects and is not designed for short-term sale. With the project in Klostermansfeld, which officially goes into construction together with Wednesday's groundbreaking, the company intends, according to its own statements, to make a central contribution to stabilizing the German power grid while at the same time enabling lower prices in the evening hours.