Battery storage systems are essential for a successful energy transition. They support the expansion of renewable energies and ensure grid stability. The city of Hamm will soon play a decisive role in this in NRW. Energy supplier RWE is planning a large battery storage facility on the site of the Westfalen power plant.
The largest storage facility in Germany is being built in Hamm, with three new battery parks that will have a total output of 600 megawatts (MW) and a capacity of 1.2 gigawatt hours (GWh). The facilities are expected to begin operating in phases between 2026 and 2028. Construction has already begun.
RWE is investing millions to build a facility in Hamm that will house 316 overseas containers with 25,000 batteries on an area the size of almost nine soccer pitches. Once the new project is completed, the Westfalen power plant's existing battery storage facility and the new containers will give the site a storage capacity of 1.35 GWh. This capacity could theoretically charge 23,000 electric cars simultaneously.
Nikolaus Valerius, CEO of RWE Generation SE: "The massive expansion of our storage capacity at the Westfalen power plant will make Hamm the energy storage capital of Germany. Our plants will play a key role in stabilizing the energy market by efficiently storing surplus energy and releasing it into the grid as needed, which will have a dampening effect on electricity prices for consumers and industry."