The company’s global battery portfolio comprises projects across the UK, US, Europe and Australia.
Mark Gilligan, Infrastructure head at AXA IM Alts, stated: “Our investment in Coalburn 1 marks a significant milestone as we enter the UK energy storage market, reinforcing our commitment to supporting the transition to a zero carbon economy. Battery storage infrastructure is critical to achieving national energy security and unlocking the full potential of renewable energy, and we look forward to working with experienced leaders of the sector to deliver resilient, long-term value for communities, our investors and the environment.”
Located in South Lanarkshire, southern Scotland, Coalburn 1 is a 500MW lithium-ion facility with a two-hour storage capacity. CIP made the financial investment decision for the project in December 2023 and will oversee its construction and operations after commissioning. The project is supported by a ten-year optimization agreement with SSE and a 15-year capacity market contract, ensuring stable revenue.
Coalburn 1 is one of three transmission-connected BESS projects CIP is developing in Scotland, with a combined capacity of 1.5GW and the ability to store and supply 3 gigawatt hours of electricity, enough to power over 4.5 million homes for two hours. CIP is also advancing an additional 4.5GW of BESS projects across Scotland and England.
The Coalburn 1 project aligns with CIP’s expanding portfolio of UK energy infrastructure investments. Its CI V fund, focused on renewable energy technologies such as wind, solar, and energy storage, recently surpassed €12 billion, targeting projects in Europe, North America, and the Asia Pacific.
Nischal Agarwal, a CIP partner, stated: “As CIP’s development and construction portfolio of UK BESS projects continues to progress and grow, we look forward to welcoming AXA IM Alts as a new partner on our Coalburn 1 site, which once commissioned in 2026 shall be Europe’s biggest operational BESS project. The delivery of Coalburn 1, alongside CIP’s Coalburn 2 and Devilla construction projects, will improve the UK’s energy security, enable more low-cost renewables to be delivered, and will act to reduce costs for British consumers through enhanced system flexibility.”
In a separate development, CIP partnered with GC Storage Services in March 2024 through its CI V fund to develop a 2.3GW pipeline of large-scale BESS projects in Italy, further expanding its global energy storage initiatives.
