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2h ago

UK Battery Build-Out Quickens With £500m NWF-Backed Eelpower Deal and Natpower’s £1bn Wilton Project

The moves highlight a crowded pipeline alongside claims of an equity gap for near-term builds.

Eelpower will immediately begin construction of three battery storage projects with more planned this year

Overview

  • The National Wealth Fund joined a £500m consortium with Equitix and Aware Super, which is contributing £200m, to invest in Eelpower to build, own and operate grid-scale battery assets.
  • Eelpower will begin construction immediately on three projects, with the investment aiming to deliver about 1GW of battery capacity.
  • Natpower announced a separate £1bn battery project at the Wilton International site in Middlesbrough, stating it will proceed with private funding and no government contracts.
  • NWF says its equity intervention targets short-term financing constraints as ministers promote storage to integrate renewables and reduce costly curtailment.
  • Industry figures question the need for public equity as the UK targets up to 27GW of batteries by 2030 and around 61GW of projects seek grid connections.