Masdar to invest £1bn in UK battery storage

Masdar has announced its intention to invest £1 billion in the UK battery storage market.

It comes after the UAE government-owned firm acquired UK-based battery developer Arlington Energy.

Masdar chief executive Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi made the funding pledge while speaking at International Energy Week earlier this week.

“I would like to announce that we are committed to battery storage here in the UK to deploy a billion pounds across the UK,” he said.

“We need a little bit more accelerating permits and production points to help us deploy this capital. The [battery storage] technology will always become more and more efficient.

“The UK is our global hub of offshore wind and it is our global hub for battery storage.”

He added that the firm plans to manage its UK battery storage operations via Octopus Energy’s technology platform Kraken

Greg Jackson, founder and chief executive of Octopus Energy Group, commented on the announcement: “Masdar has established itself as one of the leading investors in renewable technologies around the world.

“As they step into batteries in a big way – the acquisition of Arlington and this £1 billion announcement – we are delighted to partner with them. Working together with their infrastructure expertise and Kraken’s world-leading technology, we can make a real difference – driving cleaner, cheaper and more secure energy at scale.”

Arlington Energy has brought more than 170MW of battery storage and gas peaking plants into operation over the last two years and has a development pipeline of more than 1GW.

Alongside its acquisition of Arlington, Masdar also intends to increase its investments in offshore wind and other renewable energy projects in the UK. It already holds stakes in the London Array, the Dudgeon offshore wind farm and the Hywind Scotland floating offshore wind farm.