Oil and gas group Total said it will build France’s largest battery energy storage facility as it continues its push into the power sectors.
Total’s battery subsidiary Saft will deploy the 25MW/25MWh lithium-ion battery at Dunkirk Port late this year.
The facility will provide fast reserve services to the French grid after a successful bid in a competition run by French network operator RTE.
Total CEO Patrick Pouyanné said: “This project is part of Total’s strategy to develop the stationary energy storage solutions that are critical to the expansion of renewable energy, which is intermittent by nature. It will contribute toward the goal of increasing the share of renewables in France’s energy mix, while helping to stabilize the domestic power grid.”
Total bought Saft in 2016 as part of a wide-ranging push into clean energy that has included offshore and onshore wind and solar.
The oil and gas giant’s current gross renewable generation base stands at 3GW, it said, with plans to grow that as part of a shift towards “low-carbon” operations that could account for up to a fifth of sales by 2040.
