E.ON (www.eonenergy.com) has completed the installation and grid connection of its ‘10MW battery’ at the Blackburn Meadows biomass plant near Sheffield — a project that will help keep power supplies stable and support the range of power generation sources feeding into the UK’s national grid.

The 10MW lithium-ion battery is housed in four 40ft-long shipping containers and holds the same amount of energy as 500,000 mobile-phone batteries.

It was built after National Grid’s Enhanced Frequency Response (EFR) tender, seeking technologies capable of responding in less than one second to the over- or under-supply of energy to the grid.

Power supply and demand on the UK grid have to be matched closely in real time so that household electrical appliances can function properly.

Balancing the grid is made more challenging by the growing range of renewable-energy sources. Battery systems work by immediately discharging power to the network when the frequency falls — either when supply drops or when demand increases.

They can also to take power off the network if supply is greater than demand.

David Topping, director of business heat and power solutions at E.ON, said: “This shows the enormous potential for battery solutions in the UK.

"Following successful grid testing by National Grid, we are the first EFR operator to bring our system on-line, three months ahead of schedule.

“Blackburn Meadows is an example of the new smart-energy world — a renewable-energy plant providing electricity to the grid, plus sustainable and affordable heating and hot water to local businesses.

"Batteries at this scale allow us to make the best use of all renewable-energy sources by harnessing the energy and having it ready for use whenever it’s needed.”