TotalEnergies to invest in six German battery-storage projects

By America Hernandez

PARIS - French oil major TotalEnergies said on Wednesday it would invest 160 million euros ($172.7 million) in six new battery storage projects in Germany to be commissioned next year, adding to its investments in power production and delivery in the country.

"The implementation and integration of all these battery projects will allow us to supply our customers with clean firm power, contributing directly to our targeted 12% profitability in this activity,” said TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne in a statement.

The projects to create 221 megawatts of storage will be supplied by battery maker SAFT and developed by Kyon Energy, both subsidiaries of Total in Germany. 

The French firm is betting heavily on the German power market, where a closure of nuclear plants and a push to phase out coal-fired electricity creates an opening for investment in gas and renewables — businesses Total plans to scale up in coming years.

Batteries allow companies to store power from wind and solar farms during periods of overproduction, and then supply it to customers or the national grid at times of high demand.

Companies hope that equipping renewables with batteries can lead to a stable supply of green power, reducing the need for gas or coal plants which release planet-warming CO2 gas.

Germany, Europe's largest economy and top manufacturer, is home to renewable developer VSB, which Total acquired in December, bringing its German renewable project pipeline to 13 gigawatts (GW) plus 2 GW of battery capacity.

Last month, Pouyanne said the company was actively seeking to acquire one or two gas-fired plants in Germany to complete its portfolio along the electricity value chain.

Total has snapped up several offshore wind concessions, and has operations in German power production, trading, aggregation and commercialization.

($1 = 0.9263 euros)

(Reporting by America Hernandez in Paris; Editing by Jan Harvey and Bernadette Baum)