Details about Europe’s largest battery storage facility at Teesworks are set to be revealed at a public exhibition later this month.

Teesworks Ltd has reached an agreement with leading battery storage specialist Natpower UK for an option to build a giant Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) at the Long Acres section of the 2,500 acre Teesworks site.

The £1bn ‘Teesside Gigapark’ facility will enable up to 1000 Megawatts (MW) / 4000MWh of additional green energy to be plugged into the grid and will take up 50 acres of land.

There is also the potential to set up an electric vehicle charging facility as part of the complex.

Natpower UK is holding a special open event on June 26 where people will be able to find out more about the project.

The public exhibition takes place at St Hilda’s Church on Roseberry Road in Redcar from 2pm to 7.30pm.

As well as details about how the Teesside Gigapark will work and the benefits it will provide, the event will also feature members of the project team answering questions about the project.

Teesworks Limited Chairman Chris Musgrave said: “The Teesside Gigapark is another fantastic vote of confidence in Teesworks and our mission to bring the latest cutting-edge renewable energy projects to the Tees Valley at scale.

“Battery storage forms a vital part of the green energy jigsaw so the prospect of Teesworks being home to the largest facility of its kind in Europe is a truly exciting one.”

Battery storage technology is essential to speeding up the replacement of fossil fuels with renewable energy.

Battery energy storage systems enable energy from renewables, like solar and wind, to be stored and then released when the power is needed most.

This helps to ensure homes and businesses can be powered by green energy, even when the sun isn’t shining or the wind has stopped blowing.

The agreement for an option to build the Natpower UK battery storage plant adds further to the raft of renewable energy projects set to come to the Teesworks site.

These include plans for blue and green hydrogen production plants and the Net Zero Teesside carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) project.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “Our region is leading the way in delivering the green, clean energy solutions of the future and this project will provide further massive investment and help drive the ongoing growth in well-paid, highly skilled jobs.

“It is outstanding to be able to welcome another major investor to Teesworks and I look forward to working with NatPower on this development which will be truly game-changing in scale and impact on our local economy.”

NatPower UK is conducting the largest clean energy development programme in the UK, aimed at integrating large scale smart clean energy generation and distribution with large scale intermittent clean energy demand.

It aims to bring over 60 Gigawatt hours (GWh) of battery storage online in the UK by 2040.

The company is part of the NatPower group, which has 25 years’ experience in the energy sector and has developed 30GW of assets developed across 20 countries and six continents.

The Long Acres site, where the Teesside Gigapark is planned to be built, is at the south west corner of the Teesworks site.

It adjoins the area where hydrogen production facilities HyGreen Teesside and H2 Teesside and the Net Zero Teesside project are being planned to be built.

Led by bp and aiming to start production in 2026, HyGreen Teesside is planned to be one of the UK’s biggest green hydrogen facilities.

H2 Teesside, again led by bp, is planned to be one of the UK’s largest blue hydrogen production facilities, potentially supplying over 10 per cent of the UK government’s ambition for 10GW of hydrogen by 2030.

Net Zero Teesside Power aims to be one of the world’s first commercial scale gas-fired power stations with carbon capture, and the hub of a decarbonised group of industries on Teesside.