Teesside Freeport has secured a landmark clean energy investment with plans for what could become the UK’s largest battery energy storage system (BESS), even as competing projects in the industrial zone fuel disputes over land use.
Luxembourg-based renewable energy developer NatPower has announced a £1 billion commitment to build the Teesside GigaPark, a grid-connected battery project with a minimum storage capacity of four gigawatt hours (GWh). The facility will occupy a 32-acre site owned by Sembcorp Energy UK at Wilton International in Redcar, north-east England, and is expected to be operational by 2028, pending reforms to the National Energy System Operator’s grid connection timetable.
“Teesside’s location, existing infrastructure, and strong industrial base make it the ideal anchor for this type of long-duration storage integrated with port and data centre demand,” Stefano Sommadossi, CEO of NatPower UK, told fDi. He explained that NatPower intends to replicate the model in other global ports once the Teesside project is complete. The company is already active in the US, Kazakhstan, and Italy.
Battery storage systems are increasingly critical to balancing renewable energy supply and demand. They capture surplus energy generated during peak wind or solar production and release it back into the grid during periods of low generation or high demand. The UK’s current largest operating system, a 600-megawatt-hour (MWh) facility built by Statera Energy in Thurrock, only recently connected to the grid near Thames Freeport in August. NatPower’s proposed Teesside project would dwarf it, with a potential to scale from its planned 4GWh capacity to 8GWh — a scale not previously delivered in Britain.
NatPower said the project will serve energy-intensive sectors including data centres, logistics hubs, and clean energy manufacturing. Discussions are already underway with potential off-takers, from port terminals to shipping lines. “This mix of demand ensures resilience and supports Teesside’s dual role as both a digital and maritime hub,” said Sommadossi.
The project will also integrate with nearby maritime electrification infrastructure, storing surplus renewable power from offshore wind farms and other generators in the North Sea.
The development comes at a pivotal moment for the UK’s special economic zones (SEZs). Teesside, the country’s largest freeport, has been at the centre of political debate as the Labour government revamps the SEZ programme under its industrial strategy. While critics question freeports’ ability to deliver long-term employment and investment, local officials argue they remain a powerful tool for growth. “Freeports, when done properly, grow the pie,” a Teesside Freeport spokesperson told fDi in May, adding that they “attract new industries, crowd in private capital and accelerate the energy transition.”
Yet, the scale of NatPower’s project stands in contrast with mounting tensions over land allocation within the freeport zone. Teesworks, a former steelworks near Middlesbrough and one of the largest sites within Teesside Freeport, has become the focal point of clashing visions for the region’s industrial future.
In July, ministers designated Teesworks as the UK’s second artificial intelligence growth zone, aimed at attracting major investments in AI-driven data centres. Teeswork Ltd, the public–private partnership managing the site, quickly advanced plans for a 464,000-square-metre data centre campus. Redcar and Cleveland Council granted outline planning permission in early August, paving the way for a detailed application.
However, the push to prioritise digital infrastructure has brought the project into direct conflict with BP’s proposal for a blue hydrogen and carbon capture plant at the same site. In June, South Tees Group, the venture behind Teeswork, wrote to ministers formally objecting to BP’s project, warning that it would render the planned data centre “unviable.” The group argued that the data centre is of “critical national importance,” whereas BP’s hydrogen plant would not deliver “comparable levels of public benefit.”
BP, for its part, has sought compromise, insisting the two projects could coexist. The company has argued that its hydrogen plans are integral to the UK’s decarbonisation goals and would support thousands of jobs.
The disputes underscore the complexity of transforming Teesside into a modern energy and digital hub. On one hand, global investors like NatPower are bringing forward record-breaking clean energy projects. On the other, clashing land-use priorities risk delaying or derailing competing projects deemed essential to the UK’s industrial strategy.
For now, the £1bn Teesside GigaPark stands as a flagship win for the freeport. If delivered, it will cement the region’s role at the heart of Britain’s clean energy transition and signal that, even amid policy uncertainty, large-scale international investment continues to flow into the north-east.
