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North East surge in battery storage

30th Jan 2018 | Energy

With new projects in Bishop Auckland and Newcastle, is the region leading the way in innovative battery storage development?

County Durham plans approved

Plans for a 20MWh ‘backup’ electricity storage battery system to be built on land next to the fire station at Bishop Auckland have been approved. The plant will provide backup power to the national grid during demand changes as more renewable generation comes on line and will operate for around 3,500 hours a year. The project is being developed by Sirius Renewable Energy.

Macquarie & ENGIE back Newcastle project

Newcastle based electricity storage business Connected Energy has secured £3m of backing from financial services firm Macquarie and energy company ENGIE.

Connected Energy specialises in converting electric vehicle batteries into static electricity storage. Now it is aiming to expand across Europe, based on its E-STOR technology which, Connected Energy says, is the world’s only commercially available stationary electricity storage system based on reusing electric vehicle batteries.

Matthew Lumsden, CEO of Connected Energy, said: “We are delighted that Macquarie and ENGIE have provided this significant financial and management value for our phase of aggressive market growth. We have a tremendous pipeline of demand for battery-based storage systems.”

Energy expert analysis

"The opportunity for battery electricity storage technology to make a significant difference to the way we manage our electricity use is beginning to become more visible locally with small but innovative businesses in the region. A planned battery storage facility for Bishop Auckland and Connected Energy’s plans for growing their electric vehicle battery second use technology business, are positive developments.

"Hopefully these are just the beginnings of new business opportunity regionally, flowing from the need for electricity storage and management." Alastair Fells MEI, Incorporated Eng, PG Dip Fuel Tech, BSc Hons

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