Construction of the Netherlands' largest mega battery park strengthens North Sea Port's role as an energy hub

On 14 November, the go-ahead was given in North Sea Port for the construction of the Mufasa battery storage facility in Vlissingen. Mufasa stands out as the largest battery project in the Netherlands, with an investment of 350 million euros. The project strengthens North Sea Port's position as a hub for the production and distribution of sustainable energy.

The batteries will be capable of charging and discharging 1,400 MWh with a power capacity of 350 MW, several times a day. That is enough to supply more than 200,000 households with electricity. Battery parks of this type are needed to balance supply and demand in renewable energy. Large-scale storage makes it possible to absorb peaks and troughs in solar and wind production, reduce grid congestion and support 24/7 energy availability.

This milestone marks the emergence of a new energy system in which ports function as energy hubs, financiers and policymakers emphasise the importance of storage for a stable energy system, and work together to accelerate progress. ‘As a major European port, we are faced with industrial demand and grid capacity,’ says Maarten den Dekker, Chief Sustainability Digital Officer at North Sea Port. ‘With Mufasa, we have the largest battery storage facility in the Netherlands in our port. This is an integral part of the broad energy mix we want to achieve in our port. We are quite proud that we can provide the space available for this. The batteries will be located in a strip directly below the row of wind turbines. This allows us to avoid using valuable industrial sites, keeping them available for port-related activities.’ 

‘Europe is entering a phase in which coordination is becoming more important than capacity,’ says Sjoerd Bazen, Managing Director of Return. "When sustainable generation, industrial demand and financial flexibility come together, green energy becomes predictable energy.’

Mufasa represents an integrated approach that brings together all links in the energy system and helps shape the energy transition in Europe: North Sea Port offers a strategic location where industry, logistics and energy meet, Rabobank provides appropriate financing for this project, the Province of Zeeland cooperates in licensing and spatial planning procedures and sees energy storage as important for the region, and Return provides market access, real-time balancing and system intelligence so that the battery creates concrete commercial and operational value.