Batteries: Bw Ess has projects in Italia worth over 1 billion
The operator, part of an international group based in Singapore, already has 200 MW of power stations under construction and 1 GW of authorised projects
Batteries: the international operator BW Ess is investing heavily in Italia and has developed a project pipeline worth over 1 billion in our country. “In Italia, we currently have projects under construction totalling around 200 MW, with a capacity of 1.4 GWh. We also have a further 1 GW of fully authorised plants, developed through strategic partnerships, with the aim of installing them by 2030: overall, this portfolio is expected to attract over 1 billion euros of corporate investment in the coming years.”
Speaking is Ivan Niosi, who yesterday became executive director of Bw Ess, having stepped down from his roles as head of onshore renewable energy in Europe at Shell and as CEO of Shell Energy Italia. He will be tasked with driving growth in Italia.
Bw Ess is part of the Bw Group, owned by the Pao family of Hong Kong, founded in the 1950s, headquartered in Singapore, and primarily active in the shipping sector: it entered the energy sector with Bw Energy in 2016 (oil and gas production in Gabon, Brazil and Namibia), whilst Bw Ess, which focuses exclusively on battery storage systems, was established in 2021.
It currently operates in six countries: the United Kingdom, Australia, Sweden, Germany, Spain and Italia, with plants already in operation generating around 540 MWh, in addition to projects under construction totalling 12 GWh: ‘These are ongoing investments totalling one billion euros across Europe. We estimate we will reach 2.4 GWh by 2026, 4.5 GWg by 2027 and 12 GWh by 2028. We are currently experiencing significant organic growth,” explains Niosi.
The way to achieve these objectives is through collaboration: ‘The guiding principle of this company has always been to grow through partnerships. The market, particularly the energy storage sector, is evolving at breakneck speed. It is truly difficult to imagine being the absolute best in every segment of the value chain; it is simply not possible. The decision to grow through partnerships has proved strategic in bridging this gap,” emphasises Niosi. “We entered the Italian market thanks to our collaboration with Acl Energy, a developer specialising in battery storage systems, and this has secured us access to a 2 GW portfolio. There will also be another partnership, to be announced in the coming months, with a major company in the energy sector in Italia.”
