UK Infrastructure Bank has announced it intends to invest up to £200 million across two investment funds to accelerate the development and deployment of crucial storage technologies, helping to drive the country’s transition to a cleaner, greener and more resilient electricity network.
The proposed investment will support the development of new energy storage, following the Bank’s expression of interest to find innovative ways to fund and increase the nation’s storage capacity.
UK Infrastructure Bank will invest £75 million on a match funding basis into the Gresham House Secure Income Renewable Energy & Storage LP (SIRES) alongside a £65 million investment from Centrica. The Bank has committed to invest £125 million on a match-funding basis into Equitix UK Electricity Storage Fund.
The deals, which represent the Bank’s first investments in the electricity storage sector, could facilitate around 1300 jobs and will unlock at least a further £200 million in match-funded private sector capital, acting as a catalyst for the sector and helping to build confidence among private investors.
Securing enough storage capacity for the UK electricity network is vital to ensure the transition away from fossil fuels is affordable, secure and delivers the emissions reductions required to achieve net zero across the UK by 2050. Ramping up the scale and the rate of investment into electricity storage is crucial as homes and businesses across the UK increasingly rely on energy from intermittent renewable sources.
Currently National Grid forecasts show that up to 29 GW of total storage could be needed by 2030 and up to 51 GW by 2050. This is a huge increase on the 5 GW currently available and means there is a clear need to accelerate deployment of capital and investment in new storage projects.
John Flint, CEO of UK Infrastructure Bank said: "Increasing electricity storage capacity will help secure energy supply in the future and drive us along the path to net zero. We are making progress as a nation, but we need much more investment to meet necessary targets, and the clock is ticking."
"The Bank’s investment into these new funds will help break down the barriers to greater, long-term investment across a range of storage sector and renewable energy opportunities."
