Credit: Invinity Energy Systems
Copwood VFB Energy Hub in Uckfield pairs a 3MW solar array with 90 long-duration vanadium flow batteries installed by Invinity Energy Systems
The UK's first 'super battery' is poised to begin storing and supplying renewable electricity later this year, after construction of a major solar-plus-storage facility reached completion in East Sussex, developer Invinity Energy Systems announced today.
Located in Uckfield, the 20.7MWh Copwood VFB Energy Hub comprises 90 vanadium flow batteries - a form of long-duration energy storage (LDES) - will operate alongside a 3MW solar array, in a bid to make greater use of low-cost renewable electricity, the firm said.
Once it enters into service later this year, the project is expected to become Europe's largest vanadium flow battery (VFB) installation, helping reduce reliance on fossil fuel generation by providing more clean power during periods peak demand.
The battery array at Copwood, which has a capacity roughly equivalent to the daily electricity needs of around 3,000 homes, is set to store surplus daytime solar generation and discharge it back to the grid in the evening and overnight as required.
Unlike conventional battery storage systems, which store and deliver electricity in relatively short bursts, VFBs are designed to provide long-duration energy shifting, as they can store power for multiple hours and release it later, Invinity Energy Systems explained.
The company added that as its VFBs use a water-based electrolyte and are engineered for a lifespan lasting decades, they are safer than conventional battery storage as they carry no risk of fire.
"This project is about far more than a single battery system - it is proof that Britain can build the infrastructure needed to transform the country into a clean energy superpower," said Invinity Energy Systems CEO Jonathan Marren.
"If we are serious about delivering a power system dominated by renewables, we must stop wasting the energy we work so hard to generate. Long-duration storage is the missing piece that turns intermittent wind and solar into reliable, on-demand power.
"By building Europe's largest vanadium flow battery here in Britain, and manufacturing it in Scotland, we're showing that the clean energy transition can strengthen our energy security, cut system costs and create skilled industrial jobs at home."
In order to deliver the project, Invinity Energy Systems said it used investment from the UK's National Wealth Fund - which is a major shareholder in the company - as well as grant funding from the government's LDES demonstration programme.
The firm said it viewed the facility as a flagship UK demonstration project for the technology, with a forthcoming set of decisions form energy regulator Ofgem under its LDES Cap and Floor scheme expected to help unlock further investment in such projects across the UK.
Invinity Energy Systems's VFB technology, which is fully manufactured within the UK, has been selected for multiple project bids under the Ofgem scheme, according to the firm, which said its wider successful rollout could support major growth and create up to 1,000 new jobs in the UK.
The firm's VFBs for UK and European customers are manufactured and assembled at its facilities in Motherwell and Bathgate in Scotland.
Stuart Nivison, head of portfolio management at the National Wealth Fund, said Invinity Energy Systems' progress at the Copwood site "demonstrates how targeted public investment can accelerate the manufacturing of new technology, support the transition to clean power, boost energy security and create skilled jobs in the UK".
The announcement comes just days after a report from Aurora Energy Research predicted a rapid expansion in the number of co-located renewables and storage projects across Europe. The analyst firm said falling solar and storage costs combined with the need for more flexible grid services meant the sector was on track to grow six-fold to around 35GW of capacity by 2030.
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