GridFlex to build 125-MWh standalone battery project in Serbia Leskovac

• Turkey’s GridFlex will invest EUR 17 million in a 125-MWh standalone battery near Leskovac, Serbia, adding fast, flexible capacity to a strengthening grid.

Turkish developer GridFlex plans to install a 125-MWh standalone battery energy storage system near Leskovac in southern Serbia, committing about EUR 17 million to one of the country’s earliest large-scale storage projects. The system will charge during low-price, low-demand periods—often when wind or cross-border inflows are strong—and discharge into evening peaks, providing a local shock absorber as renewable penetration grows.

The design centers on containerized lithium-ion blocks with sectionalized fire-safety systems, redundant HVAC, gas detection and automated suppression. Grid-forming inverters will enable synthetic inertia, fast frequency response and voltage regulation; SCADA integrates with the transmission operator’s dispatch to switch seamlessly between energy shifting and ancillary services. Siting at a strong node near Leskovac allows staged commissioning, so portions of the battery can support the grid even as the remainder is installed.

Commercially, a standalone asset broadens Serbia’s toolkit. Beyond arbitrage—buy low, sell high—the battery can earn capacity value and respond to contingency events within milliseconds, reducing the need for costly spinning reserves. As market design evolves in the Western Balkans, software updates can unlock new products without major hardware changes—future-proofing the investment.

Local integration is baked in. Construction traffic plans, acoustic treatments and landscaped setbacks limit impacts on neighbors; cable routing and storm-water controls protect soils and waterways. GridFlex says it will prioritize local contractors where possible and train O&M technicians to build a stable skills base for Serbia’s nascent storage sector.

The timing is apt. With more solar and wind planned across the region—and interconnectors tightening links with EU power markets—flexible capacity is the missing piece that turns intermittent megawatts into dependable supply. If delivered as proposed, the Leskovac battery will be a working demonstration of how targeted storage can stabilize feeders, defer some grid upgrades, and make better use of every renewable megawatt already online.