China’s Hithium secures 55-MWh battery deal in Bulgaria

Chinese battery maker Hithium has been contracted to supply batteries for a 55-MWh energy storage project in Bulgaria being developed by Vienna-based Renalfa IPP, a joint venture of Renalfa Solarpro Group and French infrastructure fund manager RGreen Invest.

The deal was awarded by Bulgarian engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor SolarPro Holding, Hithium said on Thursday without disclosing financial details.

Under the contract marking Hithium’s entry into the Bulgarian and eastern European markets, the Chinese manufacturer will supply 16 energy storage containers with a rated capacity of 3.44 MWh, based on its 280 Ah cells. The hardware will create a battery energy storage facility (BESS) that will be co-located with a 33-MWp solar photovoltaic (PV) park in the southwestern town of Razlog.

Construction of the battery is scheduled to commence early next year.

“As the region’s utility-scale solar production ramps up, energy storage is gaining importance since it enables us to deliver solar-generated energy more reliably,” said Solarpro’s CEO Krasen Mateev.

The Razlog battery is currently the largest energy storage project currently being implemented in southeastern Europe. Its owner will be a unit of e-mobility investor Renalfa IPP, which already has more than 450 MW of renewable energy parks in Bulgaria, Hungary, the Republic of North Macedonia and Romania, plus a further 1 GW under development and construction.

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