JERA to Participate in the Battery Storage Business in the U.K.2019/02/19

JERA Co., Inc (“JERA”) and TEPCO Power Grid, Inc. (“TEPCO PG”) have agreed to invest up to GBP 25 million in Zenobe Energy Limited (“Zenobe Energy”), a battery storage company based in the United Kingdom.

Zenobe Energy supplies, finances, owns and operates battery storage assets. Zenobe Energy is currently focused on providing frequency balancing and reserve power for National Grid* in the U.K. The company is expanding into other new business areas, such as enabling the charging of commercial electric vehicles, and supporting commercial and industrial companies and other utilities. Zenobe Energy owns and operates a portfolio of batteries with capacity of approximately 73MW. The company started operating in 2017 and is one of the largest owners and operators of battery storage in the U.K.

The British government has set out an energy policy to produce 30% of electricity from renewable sources by 2020. As a result, intermittent renewable energy is increasingly impacting on its power system. A similar policy shift toward renewable energy is also occurring in Japan.

The investment in Zenobe Energy will enable JERA to increase its knowledge of how batteries can respond to variances in supply and demand caused by the changing energy generation mix. JERA will also seek to improve operational efficiency of its domestic thermal power plants by installing battery storage in these sites.

TEPCO PG’s investment in the rapidly growing Zenobe Energy will give it exposure to the U.K., which is a leading country in the battery storage market. TEPCO PG will gain access to a wide range of new solutions including ancillary service, which it will be able to implement in Japan and abroad.

JERA and TEPCO PG, as shareholders of Zenobe Energy, will leverage their cumulative experience as power producers, distribution and transmission system operators to grow the value of Zenobe Energy’s business.

• *A transmission system operator and gas supplier. Its target business areas are England and Wales in the U.K., and Northwest in the U.S.

Attachment: Outline of the Battery Storage System Project in the U.K. [PDF: 623KB]