Published: 21 Apr 2023, 09:20
Field is currently developing an estimated 500MW of batter storage in the UK. Image: Blandine Schillinger (Pixabay).
Field Energy, the UK battery storage developer, has announced it plans to expand into Italy.
The company hired Emanuele Taibias as country general manager and Roberto Nardi as project development lead, who will together lead a Rome-based team. Field plans to develop and operate its own fleet of large-scale battery storage systems in Italy with its energy trading platform Gaia.
“I’m excited to bring my expertise to Field and help establish its Italy operations. Italy’s renewable potential and complex geography makes battery storage a perfect technology to accelerate the decarbonisation of its power system and we hope that the incoming regulation will help to kickstart what could become one of the top-3 markets for storage in Europe,” said Taibias.
“Energy transition is my passion and it’s a privilege to be joining a talented team of colleagues who are equally as determined to make the transition a reality. We can achieve this by developing, financing, building and operating the infrastructure we need to reach net zero, starting with battery storage.”
Field is developing around 500MWh of battery storage in the UK, for which it recently raised £77 million in equity and debt. The company was founded by Amit Gudka in 2021 after he left utility Bulb.
The Italian grid-scale energy storage market is expected to grow substantially from 2023 onwards from a low base. Research firm LCP Delta expect it to go from under 2% of European deployments in 2022 to over 20% in 2023, when some 800MW is expected to be deployed.
The country has hit an inflection point thanks to several factors occurring simultaneously. A growing recognition that renewables must be deployed fast has combined with changes to the country’s balancing market and permitting issues, as well as an increased investor familiarity with the sector.
Alongside Field, another firm with an existing UK development portfolio recently announced big plans in Italy, Innovo Group, while Aquila Capital invested in an early-stage pipeline in January last year.
This article was first published on our sister site Energy Storage News, the full length feature can be found here.