A 25MW/100MWh battery energy storage system project in Belgium has completed financial settlement. The energy storage project has participated in the power grid capacity auction together with a natural gas power plant.

Located in Ryan, East Flanders, Belgium, the project was developed by a joint venture (JV) established by the European subsidiary of Japanese engineering and infrastructure developer Nippon Koei and Belgian renewable energy developer Yuso. It is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2022 and will be connected to Belgium's high-voltage power grid.

Shortly before the start of the new crown epidemic in early 2020, a team from Nippon Koei visited Yuso. Nippon Koei is active in the European battery energy storage market including the United Kingdom

The Ruien battery energy storage system will be deployed on the site of a decommissioned coal-fired power plant, will be connected to a nearby 70kV substation, will provide ancillary services and short-term power arbitrage services, and enter the new capacity mechanism market that Belgium is opening up.

As Nippon Koei became the main developer of Yuso's planned project in 2018, Aquila Capital, an asset management and project development group, is also cooperating in the financing, procurement, development and operation of battery energy storage systems.

Nippon Koei acquired a 29% stake in Yuso at the end of 2019 and will optimize the operation of the energy storage system within 10 years. Yuso has created the YusoFlex platform, which provides a way to market battery energy storage systems, controls, monitors and optimizes the system and its interaction with market opportunities.

Yuso said that the battery energy storage system charged by renewable energy can fill the power supply gap and increase the flexibility of grid operation configuration, just like natural gas power plants.

The company pointed out that battery energy storage systems and renewable energy have low carbon emissions, and their use also helps reduce Europe’s dependence on natural gas.

Roman Rosslenbroich, CEO and co-founder of Aquila Capital, said that the company believes that battery energy storage systems are an important asset class for achieving energy transition through the balance of the grid and the integration of renewable energy.

The energy storage system will become one of the largest battery energy storage projects in Belgium. In January of this year, commodity trader Trafigura stated that its renewable energy joint venture Nala Renewables is developing a battery energy storage project of the same scale in Baren, northeastern Belgium. The battery energy storage system is considered to be a potential solution to various energy market problems and a necessary measure to realize the transition to low-carbon energy in Europe.

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