Engie has begun construction works on one of Europe's largest battery parks at its Vilvoorde site in Belgium.

The battery energy storage system (BESS), with 200MW capacity, will store 800 megawatt hours (MWh) of energy, enough to power 96,000 households.

The development follows the project's construction permit granted in July 2023 and its selection for capacity remuneration in October 2023.

Spanning 3.5 hectares, the Vilvoorde BESS will consist of 320 battery modules, each measuring 25m x 4m x 3m.

The system will have a four-hour grid release capability, equivalent to the storage capacity of 160,000 domestic 5 kilowatt-hours (kWh) batteries.

The project has secured a 15-year contract with national grid operator Elia, ensuring its contribution to the stability of Belgium's electricity supply.

The battery park will become operational in two phases, the first 100MW coming online in September 2025 and the remaining 100MW in January 2026.

Engie is also advancing two other BESS projects in Belgium, with permits already in place for sites in Kallo (100MW/400MWh) and Drogenbos (80MW/320MWh).

These projects align with Engie's strategy to develop large-scale flexibility solutions and aim to achieve 10GW of installed battery capacity globally by 2030.

ENGIE executive vice-president in charge of flexible generation and retail activities Sébastien Arbola stated: “With the growing share of renewable energies in the energy mix, the contribution of battery energy storage systems to ensuring the reliability and security of energy systems is becoming crucial.

“Batteries will enable the absorption of peaks in renewable energy production, and the release of this energy when production is lower and consumption higher. These flexibility solutions will thus help accelerate the development of renewable energies and the energy transition.”

As of 31 December 2023, Engie had 1.3GW of battery capacity in operation and 3.6GW secured for development.