Tolling Deal for Battery Storage: EnBW Secures 1.2 GWh of Capacity in Italian Four-Hour Large-Scale Storage Project
Karlsruhe – Growing demand for grid flexibility in Italy is driving expansion of large-scale battery storage. Energy company EnBW and Spanish project developer Zelestra have signed a long-term tolling agreement for a battery storage facility in Emilia-Romagna, expanding EnBW's position in the Italian power market.
Tolling Model Secures Remuneration for Large Battery Storage
Under the tolling structure – a contract model providing fixed remuneration for available storage capacity rather than revenue from the spot market – Zelestra will build the storage facility, while EnBW secures the agreed capacity share on a long-term basis. EnBW and Zelestra see the agreement as evidence of the growing importance of such remuneration structures for standalone large-scale battery storage projects in Europe. With its four-hour storage duration, the facility is intended to help stabilize Italy's grid, which requires increasing flexibility as the share of renewable energy grows.
EnBW Expands Position in Italy, Zelestra Grows as Multi-Technology Developer
For EnBW, the agreement marks an important step in a strategically relevant market. "Battery storage is becoming a cornerstone of our modern, energy system. By combining our flexibility expertise with Zelestra’s strong renewable development capabilities, we are delivering a project that will provide critical services to the Italian power system and support a secure, low-carbon future," said Olivia Barnes, Head of Energy Transition at EnBW.
Zelestra, headquartered in Bilbao, Spain, is an international renewable energy project developer backed by investment firm EQT, active in solar, wind, storage and hydrogen projects. The company aims to double its current 1.4 GW pipeline of solar and storage projects in Italy this year. In December 2025, Zelestra secured contracts for nine solar projects totaling up to 168 MW under the FER X tender program for solar power generation.
"The Italian grid needs flexible capacity, and it needs it at scale. This agreement with EnBW is exactly the kind of long-term partnership that makes large storage assets possible, and our project in Emilia Romagna will be one of Europe's most consequential projects when it comes online," said Eliano Russo, CEO of Zelestra Italy.
Second Tolling Partner Fully Secures Overall Project
With the EnBW agreement, Zelestra's overall project of around 500 MW, or roughly 2 GWh, is now fully secured. In September 2025, Zelestra had already signed a tolling agreement with Swiss energy company BKW for a further share of the same project – according to Zelestra, the first agreement of its kind for battery storage in Italy. The BKW agreement built on an existing partnership: in December 2024, the two companies had already signed a ten-year power purchase agreement for two solar projects in Ginosa (Apulia) and Bellomo (Sicily) with a combined capacity of 16 MW. With EnBW and BKW, two European utilities have now secured long-term flexibility capacity in the Italian market.
Regulatory Framework: Italy's Capacity Mechanisms for Storage
Alongside bilateral tolling deals, Italy is also building up state-organized remuneration mechanisms for storage capacity. Under the Meccanismo di Approvvigionamento di Capacità di Stoccaggio Elettrico (MACSE), regulator ARERA, acting on a proposal from grid operator Terna, introduced a tender procedure for new storage capacity, with its design approved by Italy's environment ministry in October 2024. In the first MACSE auction in September 2025, Terna awarded 10 GWh of lithium-ion storage capacity in southern Italy and on the islands, at an average price of around EUR 13,000 per MWh per year – well below ARERA's price cap of EUR 37,000. The EnBW-Zelestra project in Emilia-Romagna is not covered by this auction, as MACSE currently applies only to southern Italy and the islands, but it illustrates the expanding regulatory framework for storage projects in the Italian market.
Source: IWR Online, Jul 07 2026