RWE builds one of the Netherlands' largest battery systems

RWE has made the final investment decision to build one of the largest battery storage systems in the Netherlands: a 400 MW/1,100 MWh battery at the power plant in Moerdijk. The system will consist of 208 containers with lithium-ion batteries and will be able to deliver its full capacity for nearly three hours. Construction will begin shortly, and commissioning is scheduled for the second quarter of 2028.

Nikolaus Valerius, CEO of RWE Generation SE: “This battery represents an important milestone for a reliable power supply and for relieving the strain on the power grid in North Brabant. As one of the largest and most powerful battery systems in the Netherlands, it will be able to meet the peak evening demand of approximately 500,000 households for nearly three hours. At the same time, it can absorb excess electricity from the grid within seconds. Battery storage plays a crucial role in building a resilient energy system that accommodates a growing share of renewable energy sources.”

Mark Lentjes, Regional Director of TenneT South Netherlands: “We are pleased that RWE in West Brabant intends to contribute to a more efficient use of the power grid with a large-scale battery that acts as a congestion reliever. RWE’s large-scale battery is located near the 150,000-volt Moerdijk-Noord high-voltage substation and helps alleviate the bottleneck there, which in turn reduces congestion throughout North Brabant.”

Alleviating congestion on the power grid

The new battery system will make optimal use of the existing infrastructure: it will be connected to the national power grid via the existing substation at the RWE power plant in Moerdijk. Through capacity management agreements with grid operator TenneT, the battery will be used to alleviate congestion in the North Brabant region. Thanks to this development, space will be created on the grid for parties on the waiting list who wish to purchase electricity. TenneT, together with the regional grid operator Enexis, will investigate what this means for whom and when in the coming period. The grid operator will incorporate this development, along with other developments in the region, into the reassessment of the congestion management study December 2026. The new battery system will be able to provide advanced grid services, such as immediate reserve (inertia). The Moerdijk site already hosts the first synthetic inertia battery connected to the continental European grid, with a capacity of 7.5 MW/11 MWh.

Linking offshore wind energy to onshore flexibility

The 795 MW offshore wind project by RWE and TotalEnergies off the Dutch coast is designed to combine offshore wind power generation with onshore flexibility solutions that help align renewable energy production with electricity demand. In Moerdijk, the battery projects play a key role in this by storing electricity when wind production is high and feeding it back into the grid when needed. This helps smooth out fluctuations and optimize the use of renewable energy. Together with technologies such as electrolysis, e-boilers, and EV charging, this supports OranjeWind’s ambition to integrate offshore wind energy more effectively into the Dutch energy system.