Penso Power is a leading developer of grid-scale battery energy storage systems; the originator and developer of Europe’s largest operational battery storage scheme (the 100MW Minety project in Wiltshire) has signed a joint venture agreement with BW Group. The agreement will see BW commit capital to fully fund the build-out of Penso Power’s pipeline of more than 3GWh of large-scale battery storage projects in the UK over the next 3-5 years, including projects up to 350MW in connection capacity.
Richard Thwaites, Chief Executive of Penso Power said: “We are delighted to have forged this important partnership with BW Group, not only one of the world’s leading maritime and energy companies but an organisation with the highest standards of governance and a strong sustainability agenda. With BW Group as our partner, we will accelerate the development and construction of our UK project pipeline, which currently exceeds 3GWh, and explore further project opportunities in the UK and overseas.”
Erik Strømsø, MD of BW Renewables, has joined Penso’s board to work closely with the team and support their growth ambitions. “We are excited to be investing in Penso Power, one of the pioneers of the UK battery energy storage space. BW has a long history as an investor in the energy value chain and a growing portfolio of sustainable energy investments, including offshore wind, floating wind and solar. We first invested in battery energy storage in 2013 with a shareholding in Corvus Energy, which is the world’s leading supplier of batteries to the maritime industry, and we remain strong believers in the technology as an enabler of the sustainable energy transition.”
“We were motivated to invest in Penso given the calibre of the management team, their track record in utility-scale battery storage development, and their commercial success with the Minety project. Following this first investment into the UK energy storage market, we look forward to working in partnership with Penso Power to deploy a large portfolio of further projects.”