Total Unveils Battery Energy Storage Project Worth 25 MWh in France

Total has announced that it has unveiled a battery-based energy storage project in Mardyck, at the Flandres Center, in Dunkirk’s port district. With a storage capacity of 25-megawatt hours (MWh) and an output of 25 MW of power, the new lithium-ion energy storage system will be the largest in France.

The development of renewable energy that is intermittent and decentralized requires the security of the electricity grid through flexible electricity storage capacities, especially in the form of batteries. And the new BESS will be used to provide fast reserve services to support the stability of the French power grid. It is part of government policy to support the development of electrical capacity through capacity mechanisms.

Scheduled for commissioning in late 2020, the new storage system, which represents an investment of around EUR 15 million, will be based on Saft’s Intensium Max 20 High Energy solution and will comprise 11 integrated 2.3 MWh containers, designed and manufactured at Saft’s production site in Bordeaux.

“This project is part of Total’s strategy to develop the stationary energy storage solutions that are critical to the expansion of renewable energy, which is intermittent by nature. It will contribute toward the goal of increasing the share of renewables in France’s energy mix while helping to stabilise the domestic power grid,” said Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of Total.

“Total’s involvement in the electricity segment continues to expand. With more than 40 percent of the storage capacities allocated, Total was the leading winner of the first call for tenders organised by RTE (France’s Electricity Transmission Network). This success was made possible thanks to the competencies of Total Flex, renewable energy aggregation expert, and Saft, the European leader in batteries for energy storage.”

As part of its ambition to become the responsible energy major, Total is building a portfolio of low-carbon electricity operations, with the objective of seeing them account for 15 to 20 percent of its sales mix by 2040. Today, Total’s gross low-carbon power generation capacity is close to 7 GW, of which more than 3 GW from renewable energy sources.