GigaBattery Boxberg 400 will form part of LEAG’s planned GigawattFactory and provide large-scale flexibility and grid-support services in eastern Germany
LEAG Clean Power has started construction of the GigaBattery Boxberg 400, a 400 MW battery energy storage system (BESS) with 1.6 GWh of storage capacity at the Boxberg power plant site in Saxony.
The project was formally launched with a groundbreaking ceremony attended by LEAG Clean Power, HyperStrong International (Germany), Siemens Energy and other project partners. The battery will be built on a six-hectare rehabilitated site formerly occupied by Plant II, extending the transformation of the Boxberg coal-fired power generation complex into a location for new energy infrastructure.
With 400 MW of grid connection capacity and 1,600 MWh of storage, the project is designed to provide significant flexibility to the German power system. LEAG says the stored energy would be sufficient, in purely theoretical terms, to cover the electricity consumption of around 640,000 households for four hours.
“Future energy supply requires high-performance storage systems,” said Thomas Brandenburg, managing director of LEAG Clean Power. “GigaBattery Boxberg 400 is another milestone in the development of our GigawattFactory. It will help make electricity generated from wind and solar more flexible while strengthening the stability of the power grid.”
The project is being developed as part of LEAG’s broader strategy to transform its traditional lignite-based generation sites into energy hubs. The company sees large-scale storage as an important component of this transition, particularly as the share of variable renewable generation increases across Germany.
HyperStrong selected for battery system and integration
HyperStrong International (Germany), a subsidiary of Beijing HyperStrong Technology, is responsible for delivering and constructing the battery storage system.
Its scope includes the supply of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery systems, integration of the electrical equipment and turnkey construction of the facility. The project will use HyperStrong’s HyperBlock III platform, a modular battery storage solution designed for utility-scale and industrial applications.
The company views the Boxberg project as an important reference installation for the German market.
“It is an honour to carry out the groundbreaking ceremony for GigaBattery Boxberg 400 together with LEAG Clean Power,” said Pingyang Wang, Senior Vice President at HyperStrong. “The 1.6 GWh facility underlines HyperStrong’s commitment to Germany’s energy transition.”
Wang added that the company expects the project to become one of Europe’s larger battery storage facilities, combining its HyperBlock III technology with its project engineering and delivery capabilities.
New 380 kV grid connection
The battery project is being developed alongside a new 380 kV gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) substation supplied by Siemens Energy.
The new substation will connect the Boxberg site to the transmission grid operated by 50Hertz. It will also provide an electrical interface between renewable generation in the surrounding area and the new battery storage facility.
The grid connection is a critical element of the project as Germany continues to expand renewable generation while facing growing requirements for flexibility, network reinforcement and system stability.
“Expanding the power grid and connecting energy storage systems are key prerequisites for the energy transition,” said Josef Heimkreiter, head of switchgear construction Germany at Siemens Energy. “We are therefore pleased to be working with LEAG Clean Power on this important project in Boxberg.”
Siemens Energy will supply the high-voltage switchgear from its facility in Berlin.
The GigaBattery Boxberg 400 therefore combines three elements increasingly central to Germany’s evolving power system: large-scale battery storage, high-voltage grid infrastructure and the redevelopment of former conventional generation sites.
For LEAG, the project represents another step towards its GigawattFactory concept, which envisages converting its existing energy infrastructure and industrial sites in Lusatia into a portfolio of renewable generation, storage and other energy assets.
