The new balancer in the Bulgarian system: What the largest battery in the EU looks like (video)

Bulgaria is now home to the largest electricity storage facility in the European Union. With an installed capacity of 124 MW and a capacity of 496 MWh, the battery built by Advance Green Energy AD in Lovech marks a new stage in the development of the country's energy infrastructure.

The ceremony, which took place on May 22 in the city, was attended by Energy Minister Zhecho Stankov, Lovech Mayor Strachimir Petkov, project investors Kiril and Georgi Domuschiev, MPs Delian Dobrev (GERB) and Stanislav Atanasov (DPS-New Start), ESO Executive Director Angel Tzachev, and Chief Architect of the Municipality of Lovech Ralitsa Marinova.

Angel Zhelyazkov, Vice President of Huvepharma and Executive Director of Biovet, is also part of the project.

Technological achievement

The project includes 16 modules, each with a capacity of 7.8 MW and 31.03 MWh, equipped with 111 lithium-iron-phosphate batteries – one of the most established technologies on the market for energy storage. Each module is charged and discharged within 4 hours. With these characteristics, it is not only a technological achievement but also a strategic tool for balancing the electricity system. By storing cheap green energy and releasing it during peak demand hours, it will directly contribute to grid stability and price predictability – factors that are key to industry and the transition to a sustainable economy.

The storage system is part of the largest hybrid park in the EU, which also has a 106 MW photovoltaic power plant. It is connected to the first and currently only licensed closed distribution network in Bulgaria in the Balkan Industrial Park in Lovech. The investment in the project is BGN 146.7 million, with BGN 89 million coming from own funds co-financed by a loan from Citibank and nearly BGN 58 million in financial assistance under the Recovery and Resilience Plan, Restore measure.

The installation of the storage system was completed in less than six months, making it one of the fastest facilities of its kind in the region. It also includes inverters, transformer stations, a cabling system, and an intelligent management system that support the efficient and safe operation of the complex.

Strategic investment

During the opening ceremony, Georgi Domuschiev pointed out that one of the main advantages of such facilities is the possibility of using cheap green energy produced during the day at peak hours, which could contribute to reducing electricity prices, especially for industry, and in the long term for domestic consumers.

Minister Zhecho Stankov said that this is a strategic investment, with forecasts that by the end of next year the installed capacity of battery systems in Bulgaria will reach 10,000 MWh. Such a development would be of significant importance for the flexibility, predictability, and balancing of the country's electricity system.

This is the largest electricity storage facility in the EU and the fifth largest in the world. Of course, our expectations in terms of the scale of the investment are that there will be economic development and that the industrial potential of our city will be developed and restored in cooperation with Balkan AD, which is also located here on this site," commented Strachimir Petkov, Mayor of Lovech.

The event marks an important moment in Bulgaria's energy transition, in which energy storage is beginning to play a significant role in grid sustainability and the development of a low-carbon economy.