- RWE has taken final investment decision to build one of the largest battery storage systems in the Netherlands: a 400 MW/1,100 MWh battery at Moerdijk power station
- It will be able to supply enough electricity to cover evening peak demand of around 500,000 households
- Commissioning planned for second quarter of 2028
- Battery contributes to system integration of OranjeWind offshore project by supporting optimal use of renewable electricity
The Moerdijk power station site will be home to a flagship large-scale battery system in the Netherlands. RWE has taken the final investment decision to build a 400 megawatts (MW) and 1100 megawatt-hours (MWh) battery storage system at the site. It will consist of 208 containers with lithium-ion batteries and can deliver its full output for almost three hours. Construction is scheduled to start in due course, commissioning is planned for second quarter of 2028.
Nikolaus Valerius, CEO of RWE Generation SE: “This battery marks a major milestone for reliable power supply and grid relief in Noord-Brabant. As one of the largest and most powerful battery systems in the Netherlands, it will be capable of covering the evening peak demand of around 500,000 households for almost three hours. At the same time, it can absorb surplus electricity from the grid within seconds. Battery storage plays a crucial role in building a resilient energy system that can accommodate a growing share of renewables.”
Mark Lentjes, Regional Director of TenneT Southern Netherlands: “We are pleased that RWE intends to contribute to a more efficient use of the electricity grid in West Brabant with a large-scale battery that acts as a congestion reliever. RWE’s large-scale battery is located close to the 150,000-volt high-voltage substation at Moerdijk-Noord, where it will help to alleviate the regional bottleneck, which in turn has an impact on congestion across the whole of Noord-Brabant.“
Moerdijk battery to relieve grid congestion
The new battery system will make best use of the existing infrastructure: It will be connected to the national grid via the existing substation at the RWE power plant in Moerdijk. Through capacity steering agreements with Transmission System Operator TenneT, the battery will be dispatched to relieve congestion in the Noord-Brabant region. Thanks to this development, space is being created on the grid for parties on the waiting list who wish to purchase electricity. TenneT, together with the regional grid operator Enexis, will be investigating what this means in the coming period. The grid operator will take this development, along with other developments in the region, into account when reviewing the congestion management study in December of 2026. The new battery system will also be equipped to provide advanced grid services such as instantaneous reserve (inertia). The Moerdijk site already hosts the first synthetic inertia battery connected to the continental European grid, with a capacity of 7.5 MW/11 MWh.
Matching offshore wind with onshore flexibility
RWE and TotalEnergies’ 795 MW offshore wind project off the Dutch coast, is designed to combine offshore wind generation with onshore flexibility solutions that help align renewable power production with electricity demand. At Moerdijk, the battery projects play an important role here by storing electricity when wind output is high and feeding it back into the system when needed, helping to balance fluctuations and optimise the use of renewable power. Together with technologies such as electrolysis, e-boilers and smart charging, it supports OranjeWind’s ambition to integrate offshore wind more effectively into the Dutch energy system.
Battery storage at RWE
As a driver of the energy transition, RWE develops, builds and operates battery storage systems in the US, Europe and Australia. In the Netherlands, RWE currently operates two battery storage systems. In addition to the existing battery at Moerdijk, RWE operates a 35 MW/41 MWh battery at Eemshaven power plant. Globally, RWE currently operates battery storage systems with a total capacity of around 1.7 gigawatts (GW) and 3 GW are under construction. As an integral part of its growth strategy, RWE plans to significantly expand its battery storage capacities worldwide.
Pictures for media use are available at the RWE media centre (credit: RWE):
- BESS in Eemshaven
- Inertia battery pilot at Moerdijk
- BESS in Hamm, Germany
- BESS in Lingen, Germany
- Infographic of the Moerdijk 400MW battery
More information on battery storage systems at RWE can be found here.
Source: RWE
