Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) has agreed to divest a 50% ownership stake in Coalburn 2 to funds managed by AIP Management.
Coalburn 2 is a 500MW, two-hour duration, lithium ion battery energy storage system (BESS) situated in South Lanarkshire, southern Scotland.
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The transfer of 50% ownership to AIP will take place once the site is commissioned.
The agreement was signed by CIP on behalf of its Copenhagen Infrastructure IV fund.
Upon being operational, the new project will be among the largest battery storage facilities in Europe, enhancing grid stability and facilitating the integration of renewable energy sources, stated CIP.
In December 2024, CIP took the financial investment decision for Coalburn 2.
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By GlobalDataCIP will maintain its leadership in the delivery of Coalburn 2 as it progresses through the current construction phase.
The project benefits from a ten-year optimisation agreement with SSE and a 15-year capacity market agreement.
Coalburn 2 is one of three transmission-linked BESS assets co-developed by CIP and Alcemi. These projects are currently under construction by CIP in Scotland.
Collectively, these assets will have a power capacity of 1.5GW and will be capable of storing and supplying the grid with a total of 3GWh of electricity. This capacity is enough to power more than 4.5 million households for a duration of two hours.
CIP is also developing an additional 4.5GW of BESS projects in Scotland and England.
AIP partner and co-head of investments Greg Falzon said: “This investment reinforces our conviction in the UK energy storage market and reflects our strategy of partnering selectively on high-quality, ready-to-build or operational assets.
“Together with our recent Ardenham investment, it forms part of a growing portfolio that combines strong downside protection with long-term value creation.”
AIP invests in assets that are ready for construction or operational, thereby avoiding early-stage development risks.
The investment follows AIP’s recent acquisition of a 2.4GWh portfolio of operational and under construction BESS projects in the UK.
So far, AIP’s investments boast a total capacity of around 7GW, which together are projected to help prevent the emission of ten million tonnes of greenhouse gases.
CIP partner Nischal Agarwal said: “As CIP’s development and construction portfolio of UK BESS projects continues to progress and grow, we look forward to welcoming AIP as a new partner on our Coalburn 2 site, which once commissioned in 2027 will be one of Europe’s biggest operational BESS projects.
“The delivery of Coalburn 2, alongside CIP’s Coalburn 1 and Devilla projects, will improve the UK’s energy security, enable more low-cost renewables to be delivered, and reduce costs for British consumers through enhanced system flexibility.”
This August, CIP acquired full ownership of the Beehive BESS, a 1GWh project in the US state of Arizona, from EDF Power Solutions North America.
