Since then, nearly 3GW of interconnector capacity has been installed to connect the GB and German markets to Norway's extensive hydro capacity. Contact online >>
Since then, nearly 3GW of interconnector capacity has been installed to connect the GB and German markets to Norway''s extensive hydro capacity.
However, across Europe battery capacity exceeds 20 GW, with GB, Germany and Italy leading this growth in capacity. Norway''s battery market remains poorly developed, even compared to its neighbours.
Sweden, however, has both a more developed residential storage sector and a bigger pipeline of grid-scale batteries than the rest of the Nordic countries put together, with around 400MW announced for operations in 2024 alone.
One of the first European-owned gigafactories for battery cell production, Northvolt''s Ett was built in Sweden, and the company is collaborating with Volvo to build the country''s second site. Northvolt also entered into a long-term partnership in 2021 with the developer and optimiser Polarium to offer storage solutions to telecoms networks.
Freyr''s Norwegian gigafactory is delayed pending a response to the USA''s Inflation Reduction Act, while Morrow''s projects will not be operational before 2028.
While Polarium largely focuses on the industrial and residential sectors, Sweden''s grid-scale storage is being driven by Ingrid Capacity, which has announced a pipeline of 400MW capacity for 2024. Other startups driving the country''s storage sector includes Flower Technologies, which recently acquired a 42.5MW battery from OX2, and optimiser Fever which is supporting Conapto''s data centre battery to participate in frequency response markets.
The Finnish start-up scene is also developing, with CapaloAI optimising Exilion''s 6MW battery across multiple markets. With their home country''s electricity market dominated by hydro, Norwegian startups like Enode appear to be taking a wider approach, and Eco-Stor is targeting Germany for its battery pipeline.
Commercial and industrial participation in energy markets has long been a feature of the Nordic markets, where a collaboration between Sympower and Vattenfall in Sweden enabled Artic Paper to become the first provider of FCR in 2020, and is now providing 60MW in FFR.
Residential customers have not been left out, with Tibber also aggregating to provide FCR since 2020. More recently, 1komma5 launched its Dynamic Pulse tariff and Heartbeat optimisation platform with the aim of delivering zero-cost energy to households from offering pooled batteries to support grid frequency.
Nordic countries have been acknowledged leaders in the electrification of residential heat and transport, with specialist optimisers Kapacity.io managing flexibility from heat pumps in Finland and True Energy EVs in Sweden and Denmark.
The investments in batteries and residential flexibility have been driven by the increasing need for ancillary services, especially for downward regulation, where Sweden''s TSO Svenska Kraftnat has been struggling to procure its target capacity, and for Fast Frequency Response due to low inertia over the summer months. Lower weekend demand means that generation that historically provided downward regulation is offline, leading to an increased requirement to procure mFRR capacity.
But the high prices that have attracted this investment in batteries and residential flexibility may not be sustainable due to the saturation of markets. Although the need for flexibility grows with renewable generation and rising demand, the capacity of installed batteries is growing at a faster rate.
Meanwhile moves towards sharing reserve capacity between countries, initially within the Nordic balancing model and eventually the pan-European coupled markets, will make more efficient use of flexibility and should reduce balancing costs for system operators and consumers.
Lithium-ion batteries increasingly dominate the short-term flexibility markets across Europe, and are dealing with market saturation by stacking value across longer duration spot markets. But questions remain around the suitability of batteries to meet the anticipated need for flexibility over weekly or monthly durations.
More suited to seasonal storage, Norway''s hydro capacity seems better placed to compete for opportunities providing long-duration storage, but further market evolution may be required for their ambition to become the battery of Europe to be realised.
STOREtrack is Europe''s leading database of storage projects, helping you keep your finger on the pulse of the European energy storage markets. The database tracks the deployment of storage across 28 countries, detailing the companies involved in each project and their role, as well as project technologies, milestones, segments and technical characteristics.
Clickhere for more informationon STOREtrack orhere to view the free version.
FLEXtrack is the platform to track and understand accessible value in European flexibility markets,sourcing the data, cleaning it and bringing into an integrated data set, which can then be visualised and downloaded through the web-based interface.
Clickhere for more informationon FLEXtrack orhere to view the free version.
FREYR Battery is set to go ahead with construction of its first battery gigafactory in Norway, having received assurances of financial and strategic support from the country''s government.
The Norway-headquartered battery cell manufacturing startup said it has sanctioned the construction of Giga Arctic and has confirmed it will have access to more than US$1.6 billion in debt financing.
The announcement by the company came yesterday as the Norwegian government announced a new National Battery Strategy policy at FREYR Battery''s offices. Like nearby Finland, Norway has decided to promote homegrown industries in the battery value chain.
The country’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries said that its 10-step plan could help unlock opportunities for industry with a turnover of NOK90 billion (US$9.02 billion) by 2030 (see release here, in Norwegian language-only).
Through the strategy, Norway''s export credit agency Export Finance Norway (Eksfin) has indicated that it will support FREYR with up to €400 million (US$418 million) worth of guarantees, loans, or a combination of the two.
FREYR has some large off-take agreements already in place with a number of customers in the stationary battery energy storage industry, some of which have been named, like a 28.5GWh deal with US manufacturer Powin, and a 19GWh deal with Honeywell, along with others which have not.
Although it is likely a large majority of initial demand will come from the electric vehicle (EV) sector, which is booming in Norway and growing around Europe and other territories, in an interview with this site in March, FREYR CEO Tom Einar Jensen said that up to half of its products could be sold into the energy storage system (ESS) sector over time.
Securing of financing has enabled the company to ramp up its production plans: Giga Arctic will be aimed at 29GWh annual production capacity, while a 2030 target for 200GWh annual capacity will be met from expansions and other new facilities FREYR intends to build.
The initial plan had been to build two smaller factories at the site in the town of Mo i Rana, but these will be consolidated into a single site. FREYR believes the Giga Arctic plant''s construction and commissioning will require around US$1.7 billion total capital investment. The company noted that factors including supply chain constraints and inflation have driven an uplift in the expected cost since plans were first announced.
FREYR recently also signed a renewable energy power purchase agreement (PPA) with Norwegian state-owned energy company Stakraft, and has materials supply deals in place with the likes of Glencore.
The manufacturer aims to run all of its production off renewable energy and is partnered with US battery technology platform company 24M, which has developed a process for making batteries with so-called SemiSolid electrodes, aiming to produce more energy dense cells at lower cost and with lower energy use required.
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