The 92.5 MW and 231 MWh battery energy storage project (BESS) is ready to begin construction.

MEAG, the asset manager of Munich Re and Ergo Group, has been closely monitoring the German battery storage market for more than a year and has now invested in this area for the first time. The company currently manages around €345 billion, of which €61 billion are for private and other institutional investors.

SMA Altenso, founded 10 years ago as a wholly owned subsidiary of SMA Solar Technology AG, has since then implemented around 1.5 GW of battery storage projects and 1 GW of hydrogen projects. (Altenso stands for “Alternative Energy Solutions.”)

SMA Altenso is to remain associated with the large storage facility in Metelen as a general contractor and O&M provider. The project is expected to go online in the second half of 2025.

As a blog post by parent company SMA indicates, Altenso had “acquired a plot of land in advance, secured a grid connection point and obtained all the necessary building permits from the local authorities” for this large battery storage facility. The sale of this BESS project, which arose from its own project development activities, to a strategic investor is an important milestone. Altenso plans to significantly expand its activities in terms of project development and execution in the near future.

“We trust our partnership will be beneficial for all parties involved and we strongly believe that project Metelen will mark a cornerstone in the German BESS market,” said Alessandro Materozzi, Altenso's head of project development. MEAG, in turn, expects “attractive returns for our investors in this promising business segment.”