Construction has begun on a large-scale battery storage facility in Falkirk, marking Rolls-Royce’s first major battery energy storage project in the UK.

Rolls-Royce has started work on the engineering, procurement and construction contract from leading battery energy storage platform Voltaria Helios Energy Storage to supply a large-scale battery energy storage facility in Falkirk, Scotland.

The site will use Rolls-Royce’s mtu EnergyPack technology and have a capacity of 86 MWh and an output of 43 MW – which is equivalent to the demand of around ten thousand homes or a large industrial site.

It will connect to the grid in 2026 and come online in 2027. It will store electrical energy during periods of high renewable energy production and feed it back into the grid during peak demand. The battery storage will facilitate additional renewable generation by avoiding uneconomical turn-down of wind generation. Rolls-Royce will maintain the system for 15 years.

Voltaria Helios Energy Storage is a joint venture between Helios Energy Investments, a group of private equity funds focused on energy transition investments, and Voltaria - which is owned by Renewables Infrastructure Capital.

Nigel Jefferson, CEO at Voltaria, said: “The Bankside project in Falkirk is the first of many battery energy storage sites Voltaria intends to deliver and operate. Rolls-Royce were selected because we were impressed by their commercial and technical offering, as well as their technical advice and engagement in the run-up to the decision, and their 15-year full-wrap long-term service agreement.

“Rolls-Royce and the CATL battery solution are market leaders, and both stand for quality, so our expectations for the delivery and operation of this project are high. Rolls-Royce has also leveraged the Scottish supply chain, which is great to see.”