Aggreko has increased its global investment in mobile battery energy storage solutions (BESS) to around US$200 m, in a move it says will allow more industries to access the latest in battery technology and reach Net Zero targets.
The energy solutions specialist explains that it will be investing ‘a significant proportion of this’ to grow its European BESS fleet, ‘to enable more customers to decarbonise their power provision, add resilience, improve efficiency, and overcome power capacity constraints’.
The introduction of this larger European fleet of small, mid- and large-size BESS forms part of the business’s ‘Greener Upgrades’ initiative, aimed at supporting customers’ move to greener solutions. In 2023, Aggreko Europe invested over US$140 m in its Greener Upgrades portfolio, increasing its fleet of new steam boilers, Stage V generators, battery storage, oil- free air compressors, and chillers.
By bringing these new, ‘greener technologies’ to market, Aggreko claims to be ‘reinforcing its commitment to playing a key role in the energy transition’, while by undertaking field-based trials with customers, it is helping companies become early adopters of new technologies like batteries, ‘supporting the move toward use of cleaner and greener energy solutions’.
Rodrigo Salim, head of Product Line – Battery & Energy Storage, at Aggreko, said: “Energy storage is set to be a critical component of the energy transition, yet many organisations in energy-intensive industries may not have the capital, infrastructure, or skills in place, to introduce the technology overnight. Like all new technologies, there is always the risk of which one to choose. At Aggreko, our sectorised approach enables us to really understand customers’ challenges, and help them select the best solution without risk of capital investment.”
Aggreko says that whether using a battery solution in a hybrid set-up, or on its own, the enhanced BESS fleet will help in reducing emissions, lowering NOx and fuel consumption across a wide range of applications. In addition, it explains, introducing BESS solutions can help solve capacity constraints and provide off-grid power resilience as part of a decentralised energy solution, ‘particularly for high energy users’.