FRV selects Hithium batteries for 500-MWh Gnarwarre BESS, Victoria Australia

• FRV taps Hithium to supply 112 battery blocks for the 250-MW/500-MWh Gnarwarre BESS in Victoria, a grid-forming project west of Geelong.

FRV Australia has chosen Hithium to supply batteries for the Gnarwarre battery energy storage system in Victoria, a 250-MW/500-MWh grid-forming project located roughly 20 km west of Geelong. Under the deal, Hithium will deliver 112 Block 5-MWh units, with integration supported by SMA Solar Technology power-conversion systems. The supplier will also provide commissioning services and a long-term service agreement, FRV and Hithium said. 

Gnarwarre reached financial close on August 4, 2025, advancing via FRV’s portfolio facility and marking one of the developer’s largest standalone storage assets in Australia. The project will include grid-forming capabilities, enabling the battery to provide essential system-strength services such as virtual synchronous machine behaviour, improving stability as more inverter-based resources connect to the National Electricity Market.

Once operational, the two-hour system is expected to charge during periods of high renewable output and discharge at evening peaks, supporting reliability and helping reduce curtailment of nearby wind and solar. With growing electrification and coal retirements tightening supply-demand margins, dispatchable storage like Gnarwarre is becoming a cornerstone of Victoria’s transition plans.

The selection of Hithium’s containerised blocks and SMA PCS reflects a maturing supplier ecosystem for Australian storage, where bankability and service support across the asset life are key procurement criteria. The project’s combination of technology, scale and grid-support functionality positions it to participate across multiple value streams—capacity, arbitrage and ancillary services—once commissioning is complete.