Norway Wealth Fund seeks investment in battery storage as the market matures

Norway's sovereign fund announced on Wednesday that it hopes to make its initial investments in battery storage systems. This reflects the increasing importance of batteries for stabilising increasingly intermittent electricity markets.

Since 2021, the $2.2 trillion sovereign fund, 'the largest in the world,' has invested in renewable energy infrastructure that is not listed, with a focus on offshore wind farms, as well as solar and wind assets located both onshore and off-shore.

It became an investor in German transmission grid operator Tennet last year.

Harald von Heyden, the head of energy infrastructure at the fund, said that they also wanted to make their first large battery investments.

STILL LOOK AT US RENEWABLES

He added that despite some headwinds for renewables under U.S. president Donald Trump, many onshore wind, solar and battery projects are seeking capital in the United States.

Von Heyden, speaking of U.S. investments in energy, said: "We're more?careful? than before?but we aren't closing the doors."

As intermittent renewables like wind and solar grow, the number of hours with a negative price on power markets is increasing. During these hours, owners can benefit by storing energy rather than turning off their systems.

Von Heyden said that the fund's investment minimum is about 1 billion euros ($1.2billion). It will also not take more than 50% of projects.

He said, "But the battery centres are getting bigger and bigger."

The fund's previous energy investments have included "big, serious" partners like Iberdrola in Spain and RWE Germany.

Von Heyden declined to give more information about the markets or potential partners that they were looking at. ($1 = 0.8402 euro) (Reporting and editing by Terje Solsvik, Nora Buli)

(source: Reuters)