Batteries · Oct 19, 2026, 10:14
Germany Pushes 3.2GWh of 4-Hour Batteries Toward Construction Ahead of Grid-Fee Deadline
Enertrag and Enlight, Vattenfall and Fluence, and Giga Storage advanced three German 4-hour BESS projects totalling 3.2GWh before a January 2027 FID cutoff.
Grid-scale battery storage beside a substation.
Illustration (AI-generated)
Brandenburg, Germany, October 16 — Three large 4-hour battery energy storage system (BESS) projects in Germany, totalling 3.2GWh, moved toward construction this week, led by the start of construction at Enertrag and Enlight's 200MW/840MWh Bertikow site on October 13.
The timing is driven by regulation. Owners must prove final investment decision (FID) by January 1, 2027 to win a 20-year exemption from grid fees on charging and discharging. Qualifying projects then have until August 1, 2029 to come online.
The Technical Details
Enlight and Enertrag jointly own Bertikow, in 50Hertz's transmission territory, with operation expected in the first half of 2028. EDF Trading holds a seven-year offtake for part of its capacity, and Entrix will optimize dispatch. A substation upgrade completed last year lets Bertikow also serve more than 500MW of regional wind and solar.
Vattenfall hired Fluence as turnkey supplier for Brunsbüttel, sited at a nuclear plant being decommissioned. Planned capacity has grown from 700MWh at permitting to at least 1,000MWh. Giga Storage signed a 380kV grid connection with transmission operator Amprion for its Albatross project, its first in Germany.
- Bertikow (Enertrag/Enlight): 200MW / 840MWh, construction started October 13, online H1 2028
