RWE to build 400 MW battery to ease grid congestion in Noord-Brabant

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 2Q28.

Nikolaus Valerius, CEO of RWE Generation SE, responded: “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, added: “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.”

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.

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.

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 BESS. In addition to the existing battery at Moerdijk, RWE operates a 35 MW/41 MWh battery at Eemshaven power plant. Globally, RWE currently operates BESS with a total capacity of around 1.7 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.

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