Executive Summary
- Sumitomo Corporation has agreed to invest in multiple large-scale BESS projects in the UK being developed by Gresham House Energy Storage Fund
- The projects are Elland 2 (West Yorkshire, 100MW capacity), Cockenzie (Scotland, 240MW), Monet’s Garden (North Yorkshire, 57MW), Lister Drive (Liverpool, 57MW), and Ocker Hill (Staffordshire, 240MW)
- Sumitomo noted that, in the UK, ‘the role of grid-scale BESS, which supports supply-demand balancing and grid stabilisation, is becoming increasingly critical’
Japanese trading giant Sumitomo Corporation has agreed to invest in multiple large-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) projects in the UK being developed by Gresham House Energy Storage Fund (GRID).
The projects consist of five utility-scale BESS projects to be developed across the UK, with a total planned capacity of approximately 694 MW.
Summit Transition Partners (STP), Sumitomo’s joint venture with Taiwan’s TPK Holding, who is conducting the deal, will invest initially in three projects, totalling 397 MW, which are expected to begin construction within the current fiscal year. The other two projects – which STP has secured exclusivity rights – will begin in parallel.
The company outlines its rationale on the UK opportunity. “In the UK, the government has set ambitious renewable energy targets, and the role of grid-scale BESS, which supports supply-demand balancing and grid stabilisation, is becoming increasingly critical,” the company noted. “At the same time, regulatory frameworks supporting the BESS sector are also being strengthened, and demand is expected to expand further in the coming years.
“Against this backdrop, Sumitomo Corporation has been exploring opportunities in the UK BESS market.”
This BESS initiative is being positioned as one of the projects under a ‘comprehensive’ memorandum of understanding Sumitomo signed with the UK government’s Department for Business and Trade’s Office for Investment in July.
The five projects are Elland 2 in West Yorkshire, with capacity of 100MW, Cockenzie (Scotland, 240MW), Monet’s Garden (North Yorkshire, 57MW), Lister Drive (Liverpool, 57MW), and Ocker Hill (Staffordshire, 240MW).
