TotalEnergies has sold a 50% stake in an 800-MW portfolio of battery energy storage projects in Germany to Allianz Global Investors, a Germany-based group that has nearly $640 billion of assets under management.
The sale was announced April 2 by DNV, an independent energy expert and assurance provider. DNV acted as technical advisor to TotalEnergies for the transaction. The portfolio includes 11 projects currently under construction, and represents 789 MW/1,628 MWh of capacity. The projects are expected to enter commercial operation over the next two years. TotalEnergies and AllianzGI will finance, construct, and operate the projects as part of a joint venture.
Officials on Thursday said the deal values the portfolio at about 500 million euros ($577 million), and represents one of the largest battery energy storage deals in Germany. DNV said the projects “will provide critical flexibility to the German power system, helping to integrate renewable energy, reduce grid congestion, and support the country’s energy transition goals.”
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“This transaction demonstrates the vital role of independent technical expertise in large-scale energy infrastructure mergers and acquisitions,” said Prajeev Rasiah, senior vice president and regional director for Northern Europe, Energy Systems at DNV. “With a portfolio of this size and complexity, investors require deep confidence in the assets’ technology, construction plans, and revenue assumptions. Our team’s ability to deliver a thorough and timely vendor due diligence, coordinating experts across multiple disciplines, provided that confidence and enabled a smooth transaction.”
DNV’s scope of work included a comprehensive technical due diligence of the 11-project portfolio. The projects include sites such as Weingarten (100 MW/203 MWh), Mehringen (147 MW/296 MWh), and Husum (147 MW/296 MWh). DNV said its role “required coordination from a cross-regional team of DNV experts, covering disciplines from technology assessment to construction and grid connection review.”
“Battery storage due diligence requires a detailed understanding of how technology choices, construction timelines, and contractual risk allocation interact at each site,” said Iqbal Ahmad Sarabi, senior energy storage engineer for DNV, and the project’s manager. “In this portfolio, we evaluated project-specific factors such as grid connection, system design, and operational performance, while also ensuring consistency across all 11 assets. This approach is critical to provide investors with a robust view of performance and risk. ”
German officials have called battery energy storage essential to the country’s move away from fossil fuels. The DNV Energy Transition Outlook Germany 2050 calls for Germany to receive 98% of its power from renewable resources by mid-century. The group has said that storage assets provide the flexibility needed to balance electricity supply and demand, stabilize the power grid, and ensure reliable power.
—Darrell Proctor is a senior editor for POWER.
