Masdar makes major contribution to UK energy security
The Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, known as Masdar has successfully closed its first battery storage project financing in the UK, securing up to £97 million for four projects with a combined capacity of 205MW/540MWh.
This marks another milestone in Masdar's commitment to invest £1 billion in a 3GWh UK battery storage pipeline.
Masdar’s Stockport facility
The company’s Stockport project is already operational, storing enough clean electricity to power 20,000 homes for more than two hours, while projects in Rochdale, Cardiff and Chesterfield are progressing through development.
Together, these projects will contribute to enhancing UK grid stability, support the integration of renewable energy, and help reduce consumer energy costs.
This financing close is far more than a project milestone — it marks the official full-scale landing of sovereign capital in the UK’s multi-GWh battery storage track.
Securing £97M for 205MW/540MWh bundled BESS assets and kicking off the £1B / 3GWh UK pipeline demonstrates Masdar’s precise judgment on Britain’s grid upgrade cycle.
With operational flagship assets and a clear development pipeline this portfolio forms a perfect “cash-flow operational base + scalable reserve capacity” model.
These long-duration flexible storage assets fundamentally addreses the UK’s core grid pain points: renewable curtailment, peak shaving pressure and volatile consumer energy costs. This is exactly how utility-grade BESS should serve national energy security and grid stability.
Husain Al Meer, Masdar Director, Global Offshore Wind & UK, said:
'This announcement demonstrates that we are accelerating progress towards delivering on our £1 billion pipeline. BESS is critical to helping the UK to transform its energy systems, unlock more renewables deployment, and bring tangible benefits to consumers, businesses, and local communities.
Masdar is proud to be at the forefront of this sector in the UK and beyond.'
Husain Al Meer
BESS solutions balance and stabilize the intermittent energy supply from renewables, providing flexible energy to the grid by storing energy in periods of low demand and releasing it at peak times.
This flexibility enhances grid stability and energy security, supports the integration of renewable energy, and contributes to lowering consumer bills and carbon emissions.
Built to international standards of safety and security, Masdar’s BESS projects incorporate state-of-the-art fire detection and suppression systems, with 24-hour CCTV monitoring and local response capability.
Masdar’s UK BESS projects are also being built in close consultation with local stakeholders to ensure they deliver positive impact to local communities as well as providing tangible national economic benefit.
The Welkin Road plant is located on a previously developed brownfield site in Stockport. Local biodiversity was enhanced during construction, with bird and bat boxes being provided to protect wildlife, the control of Japanese knotweed and the planting of naturally occurring flora. A community fund is also being established to donate money to local causes.
The Chesterfield project, located in Calow Green, will sit on land previously used for coal mining, and will transform the area into a hub for clean energy generation and storage. The project development will respect the area’s agricultural character while repurposing previously disturbed ground for a positive environmental use, demonstrating how former industrial sites can be reimagined to support a sustainable energy future.
The Cardiff project is also situated on an industrial brownfield site, on Ipswich Road, repurposing under-utilized land and avoiding the need for new greenfield development, while making efficient use of established utilities and access routes.
Masdar is a global leader in battery energy storage systems. In October, Masdar broke ground in Abu Dhabi on the world’s first gigascale 24/7 solar and battery storage project. The project will feature a 5.2GW solar plant, coupled with a 19GWh BESS, the largest and most technologically advanced system of its kind in the world, to deliver up to 1GW baseload power every day.
Beyond battery storage, Masdar’s growing presence in the UK as a leading investor, developer, and operator in the offshore wind sector underscores its long-term commitment to supporting the country’s energy transformation. Major projects in the UK market include a €5.2 billion co-investment with Iberdrola in the 1.4GW East Anglia THREE offshore wind facility, which will provide enough power for 1.3 million British homes, and the 3GW Dogger Bank South offshore wind farm being developed in partnership with RWE.