UK secures £1bn private boost for biggest battery storage project

Natpower will invest £1 billion to build a high-capacity battery energy storage site at Sembcorp Utilities’ Wilton International near Middlesbrough, in what it says will be one of the largest BESS projects in the UK — delivered without government contracts.

The plant is designed with roughly double the duration and capacity of typical UK assets, is expected to cut grid bottleneck costs estimated at £3.5 billion annually, and will create around 200 construction jobs.

The development of this large-scale battery storage site is seen as a blueprint for combining renewable energy storage with industrial hubs, aiming to transform areas like Middlesbrough into net-zero economic powerhouses.

CEO Stefano Sommadossi called the site a “blueprint” for coupling storage with industrial hubs, aiming to turn the Teesside cluster into a net-zero powerhouse within five years and then replicate the model at ports worldwide.

The move comes as the National Wealth Fund backs a £500 million initiative to expand battery storage nationally. Chancellor Rachel Reeves said storage will lower bills and create jobs, while Energy Minister Michael Shanks called such sites critical to delivering clean power.

Separately, Ofgem will lift the price cap by 2% for October–December, taking a typical household’s annual energy spend to £1,755. From 2027, the government plans to cut industrial electricity prices by up to 25% for about 7,000 businesses, noting that UK firms currently face higher energy costs than peers in France and the US.