EDF Renewables UK, a subsidiary of the French power firm EDF Group, is vying for top spot in the UK battery industry with the buy out of energy storage and electric vehicle charging firm Pivot Power.
UK firm Pivot Power, now a wholly owned subsidiary of EDF Renewables, says the move will help it build out 2GW network of transmission connected batteries in its C40 sites across the UK.
The sale is another link in EDF’s plan to deploy 10GW of storage by 2035, and is in line with the firm’s Electric Mobility Plan to move into the UK, French, Italian and Belgian electric mobility markets.
Pivot Power has plans to install batteries to the UK’s power transmission grid. Its planned projects will have the potential to host 50MW of capacity to power rapid EV chargers. The first two storage projects at Kemsley (Kent) and Cowley (Oxford) are expected to be commissioned next year.
Simone Rossi, EDF Energy CEO said battery storage and electric vehicles were two key technologies that would help lower carbon emissions, alongside generation from renewables and nuclear.
Matt Allen, co-founder and CEO of Pivot Power, said the UK’s transition to a cost-effective, reliable, low-carbon energy system would develop in parallel to fast-track the rapid adoption of clean transport.
Last month lead-acid battery maker Narada signed a battery storage projects cooperation agreement with EDF Renewables China, the Chinese subsidiary of the French multinational.
The cooperation is due to start with the acquisition agreement by EDF of a 1.5MW/12MWh battery storage owned and operated since September 2018 by Narada in Jiangsu province, China.