Eku Energy Secures £145m to Build Ocker Hill Battery Project

• NatWest and SMBC back Eku Energy with £145 million for a 99-MW/198-MWh battery at Ocker Hill, advancing Britain’s shift to flexible, low-carbon power.

Eku Energy has clinched £145 million in fresh financing to accelerate construction of grid-scale battery projects across the United Kingdom, starting with a 99-MW/198-MWh installation at Ocker Hill in the West Midlands. The package, arranged by NatWest Bank and Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), sets aside more than £45 million in dedicated debt for the flagship battery while providing an additional £100 million accordion facility to bankroll the developer’s near-term pipeline.

The Ocker Hill system will rise on the site of a former coal-fired power station that supplied electricity for eight decades before closing in 1977. Scheduled to break ground next month and go live in late 2026, the project will deploy 54 Tesla Megapacks and rely on H&MV Engineering as balance-of-plant contractor. Under a 10-year tolling agreement, Marubeni-owned SmartestEnergy will optimise the battery’s output, monetising services such as frequency response and peak-shaving.

“Ocker Hill will deliver the same reliability once provided by coal, but without the emissions,” said Elias Saba, chief technology officer at Eku Energy. “Its long-term offtake structure with SmartestEnergy is proof that storage can attract bankable contracts and underpin the energy transition.”

The deal also reflects Eku Energy’s expanding ambitions. In February the company acquired Bluestone Energy’s seven-site portfolio, adding 1 GW/2 GWh of prospective storage capacity. Ocker Hill becomes the developer’s fourth UK asset either operating or under construction.

Daniel Burrows, Eku Energy’s chief executive, framed the financing as a vote of confidence in battery technology’s role within Britain’s evolving power system: “With support from NatWest and SMBC, and partnerships with Tesla and SmartestEnergy, we’re building the flexible backbone that a renewables-heavy grid demands.”

Industry analysts note that Britain will need at least 20 GW of storage by 2030 to balance surging wind and solar output; current operational capacity sits well below that mark. By repurposing a historic coal site for cutting-edge storage, Ocker Hill offers a tangible symbol of the nation’s shift from fossil legacy to clean, dispatchable power.