Project Zerbst
Utility-scale battery storage in Saxony-Anhalt to provide flexibility and system services in a renewable electricity market.
Project Zerbst
Utility-scale battery storage in Saxony-Anhalt to provide flexibility and system services in a renewable electricity market.
The Zerbst project is a grid-connected battery energy storage system (BESS) with a capacity of 30 MW and 80 MWh in Zerbst, Saxony-Anhalt. The site addresses the increasing need for flexibility due to volatile renewable feed-in and enables market-based optimization across multiple revenue streams.
- Location: Zerbst, Saxony-Anhalt (DE)
- Commercial operation (expected): Q3 2027
- BESS area (approx. 10,000 m²): Acquisition from the city of Zerbst
The Zerbst battery energy storage system is a 30 MW / 80 MWh BESS project developed and financed by Pure Energy. Located in Saxony-Anhalt, the project will provide crucial flexibility to Germany's renewable energy-dominated power grid.
Project sponsor & optimizer
Project sponsor & optimizer
pure.energy GmbH
Transformer station (50/63 MVA)
Transformer station (50/63 MVA)
IVR Energy Inc.
network operator
network operator
AVACON Network LLC
Grid connection via auxiliary mast
Grid connection via auxiliary mast
AVACON Services
Commercial strategy
The battery storage facility is operated using multi-market optimization to generate revenue from multiple electricity markets while providing flexibility for the power system.
Wholesale markets (day-ahead & intraday)
The storage facility exploits price differences between electricity exchanges through targeted charging and discharging cycles. Energy is charged when market prices are low and fed back into the grid when prices rise (energy arbitrage).
Regulating energy markets
The battery storage facility can participate in various balancing energy markets, including:
Primary control reserve (FCR)
Secondary control energy (aFRR)
Minute reserve (mFRR)
These markets reward the provision of rapid flexibility to stabilize the grid frequency.
Network-supporting flexibility
As a grid-connected storage system, it can also provide flexibility for grid operators and help reduce grid congestion.
Algorithmic trading optimization
Storage operations are optimized using data-driven trading strategies. Price forecasts, market liquidity, grid situations, and weather data are combined to determine the economically optimal schedule for storage.
Pure Energy signs first-of-its-kind Flexibility PPA in the Baltics with Mirova & Evecon's BREP
Pure Energy has signed a first-of-its-kind Flexibility & Power Purchase Agreement (FPPA) with Mirova and Evecon’sBaltic Renewable Energy Platform (BREP) in connection with the hybridization of the 77.5 MWp Kirikmäe solar PV plant with a 55 MW / 250 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS), currently under construction.
The transaction integrates renewable electricity offtake with long-term flexibility optimization under a structured commercial framework, alongside approximately €85 million in long-term financing provided by Swedbank.
By combining solar generation, storage capacity, and structured market optimization, this transaction strengthens the bankability of hybrid assets and represents a milestone in the evolution of flexibility-based PPAs in the region.