United Kingdom: EDF strikes long-term pact with Fidra Energy on £594m Thorpe Marsh mega-battery

EDF, Britain’s largest zero-carbon generator, has signed a long-term agreement with Fidra Energy (backed by EIG) to manage and optimise two battery units totaling 560 MW at the Thorpe Marsh site in Yorkshire. The project sits on a former coal power station adjacent to a major National Grid substation.

When fully built, Thorpe Marsh is slated to be the UK’s largest battery facility—and among Europe’s biggest—at 1.4 GW / 2.9 GWh, with peak capability to supply up to 785,000 homes by storing surplus wind and solar for periods of high demand. The two contracted units are targeting operations in 2027.

Under the deal, EDF will provide route-to-market and dispatch optimisation via its Powershift platform, capturing value across wholesale and ancillary services while delivering fast, flexible support to the National Electricity System Operator (NESO).

Launched by EIG in 2024, Fidra Energy is building the site and retains prior ties with EDF through route-to-market services at West Burton B CCGT.

Both companies frame Thorpe Marsh as a flagship coal-to-storage conversion that strengthens grid resilience and advances the UK’s net-zero goals.