NatPower UK Secures Site Agreement for Planned £1bn, 1GW/8GWh BESS in Teesside

 NatPower UK has secured a site agreement with Sembcorp Utilities (UK) Limited for a 32-acre site at Wilton International in Redcar (Teesside) to deliver a planned 1GW/8GWh lithium-ion battery energy storage system (BESS), representing a planned £1 billion privately financed investment with no subsidies or government contracts required.

The plant will initially operate at four-hour duration (4GWh), with potential to expand to eight hours (8GWh) — roughly double the duration of typical UK assets. It is expected to help reduce grid bottlenecks, which studies estimate cost the UK energy system up to £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.