European battery energy storage system (BESS) developer Harmony Energy has powered up its 100MW/200MWh Cheviré battery project in France.
The company said it is the largest of its kind in France, which began construction in summer 2024 and is in the port of Nantes Saint-Nazaire Harbour. It is located on the site of the former Cheviré fossil fuel power plant in Nantes that used coal, gas and oil from 1954 to 1986.
The BESS uses EV automaker Tesla’s lithium-ion utility-scale energy storage technology Megapack and its trading and control platform Autobidder to balance the national grid.
It can power approximately 170,000 homes for two hours, which is more than the population of Nantes.
The company said that the Cheviré project also includes biodiversity initiatives, with commitments to a community benefit fund that will support local social and environmental causes.
Harmony Energy was founded in 2010, with over 1GWh of duration in the UK and a further pipeline in Europe of 13GW in capacity. Its French division was founded in 2022 by CEO Andy Symonds and chief operating director Clément Girard.
Andy Symonds, CEO, Harmony Energy France, said, “The Cheviré battery project is a landmark achievement for the wider energy transition in France. It shows how disused industrial sites can be repurposed to enable a more sustainable electrification of our power systems. This project strengthens energy security, supports affordability, and helps pave the way for a cleaner, energy system which is less reliant on burning fossil fuels.”
Image: (L-R) Andy Symonds, CEO, and Clément Girard, chief operating director standing at the Cheviré battery project in France. Credit: Harmony Energy.
