The energy group Leag wants to press ahead with the construction of large battery storage facilities in eastern Germany. The subsidiary Leag Clean Power has signed a supply and construction contract for the planned giga-battery storage facility at the Boxberg power plant site in Saxony (Görlitz district), the Group announced in Cottbus. The partner is the German subsidiary of the Chinese energy storage provider HyperStrong.
A storage giant is being built where cooling towers once stood
The "GigaBattery Boxberg 400" is to be built on an area of around six hectares where the cooling towers of the former power plant were blown up a year ago. A connected load of 400 megawatts and a storage capacity of 1,600 megawatt hours are planned. According to the company, this could cover the electricity consumption of around 640,000 households for four hours. The system is intended to compensate for fluctuations in the feed-in of renewable energies and stabilize the grid.
The giga-battery will be based on lithium iron phosphate storage systems supplied and integrated by HyperStrong. Siemens Energy will be responsible for the gas-insulated switchgear for the connection to the 380-kilovolt grid. According to Leag, Boxberg is the company's second large-scale storage project after Jänschwalde in Brandenburg. Both locations are to become central sites of the planned "GigawattFactory", with which Leag intends to expand its energy storage and renewables portfolio.
"Milestone for the energy transition"
Leag CEO Adolf Roesch spoke of a "milestone" for the energy transition and a building block for a secure supply. HyperStrong CEO Jianhui Zhang called the project an important step in his company's European strategy.
On Tuesday, the EU Commission approved state aid of up to 1.75 billion euros for Leag. This is intended to compensate the company for the statutory early phase-out of lignite - including for recultivation and social costs.
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