Axpo, Switzerland's largest producer of renewable energy, is to establish departments for hydrogen and batteries and build teams over the next few months, it announced today.

Energy storage will be a “crucial technology” for security of supply during the energy transition, according to the company, which is also an international leader in energy trading and the marketing of solar and wind power and has a presence in 40 markets.

It is building the necessary know-how for green hydrogen and intends to cooperate on projects with partners. It highlights industry and transport as the key use cases for hydrogen.

Axpo has been a large-scale solar plant and wind farm developer for several years and this will continue in concert with the build-out of infrastructure for energy storage and CO₂ reduction solutions.

“Battery storage and hydrogen technologies will become increasingly important to ensure that power from renewable sources is continuously available” Sutter, Axpo

Christoph Sutter, head of Axpo’s renewables division, says: "We have strongly expanded our renewable energies business in recent years and, with our subsidiaries Volkswind and Urbasolar, are in an excellent position in wind and solar energy.

“Battery storage and hydrogen technologies will become increasingly important to ensure that power from renewable sources is continuously available. Therefore, it is only logical that we now want to specifically target and drive forward activities in these promising business fields."

Axpo is the second Swiss utility to announce plans for green hydrogen in recent months. An executive from Romande Energie discussed the company’s plans with Hydrogen Economist in early January, with the utility similarly working on developments to be announced in the coming months.

Axpo has been active in the construction, operation, management and marketing of large-scale battery storage systems for some time. In Switzerland, it developed a 2MW battery storage facility in Rapperswil-Jona in 2019, and at the end of 2020 announced the construction of a 6.25MW storage system in Rathausen/Lucerne.

Internationally, Axpo markets the flexibility options of a 30MW battery storage system in Yllikkala, Finland. Axpo’s battery storage services will be specifically developed on an international scale.

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Author: Alastair O’Dell<BR>Senior Editor