Northumbrian Water has announced a partnership with flexible energy platform Argonaut Power to pilot the use of large-scale battery storage at a number of Northumbrian’s sites.
An installation and revenue sharing contract is expected to be signed by the end of the year with the batteries in full operation by the autumn of 2019.
Argonaut, which is backed by investment manager Ingenious Infrastructure, will use “second life” lithium-ion batteries recovered from Renault electric vehicles (EVs).
Energy storage engineers Connected Energy will provide the technology necessary to facilitate the platform. The three companies will work together to develop the projects.
Argonaut, which will also manage the operation systems, will fully fund the investment costs.
Anthony Browne, energy development manager at Northumbrian Water, said: “Large-scale battery storage is going to be a major feature of the electricity industry going forward and this is a great opportunity for us to develop our understanding of these processes.
“We expect that having batteries on site can also help us obtain more value from any renewable energy we generate on our sites.
“The bespoke solution was based on addressing the various elements of NWL’s strategy, such as local content, innovation, sustainability and consumer value, and we were certainly impressed by Argonaut’s ability to deliver results in line with our expectations.”
Argonaut managing director and ingenious senior investment director, Roberto Castiglioni, said: “We are excited to enter into an exclusive partnership with NWL to install and manage behind the meter (BtM) storage on some of their critical sites.
“NWL has been very collaborative and supportive in structuring the projects.
“We believe we have created something unique and innovative through a combination of technical and financial engineering.”
Connected Energy chief executive, Matthew Lumsden, added: “It’s great to be working with Argonaut and NWL on this opportunity.
“This project has been built with innovation and sustainability in its DNA, from our second life battery energy storage systems through to the new operating and financing models.
“We’re very proud to be involved in a project that will demonstrate how companies installing BtM energy storage can generate new revenue streams while simultaneously bolstering their sustainability credentials.”