Zenobē, a U.K.-based owner and operator of grid-scale battery storage, has announced the acquisition of a 400 MW ready-to-build battery energy storage system in Low Harker, Cumbria, from Innova, a U.K.-based renewable energy project developer.
Innova received planning consent on the project in October 2023 and has been developing the Harker site since 2022. The storage project is scheduled for connection in 2028.
With this acquisition, Zenobē has added another 400 MW of ready-to-build capacity to its 1.2 GW of battery energy storage system portfolio projects, which are either in operation or under construction.
Pinsent Masons and Natural Power supported Zenobē on the legal and technical aspects, respectively. JLL acted as the financial advisor alongside TLT and Foot Anstey, the legal advisors, to Innova on the transaction.
Following the retirement of plants such as the Heysham nuclear power station, the Harker storage project will provide inertia and reactive power services required to manage the network in the region.
Commenting on behalf of Innova, Daniel Mushin (Chief Investment Officer) and Jon Sheppard (Investment Manager) said, “The Harker project demonstrates how our development expertise has been helping to unlock clean energy infrastructure, and we’re delighted to continue working with Zenobē to accelerate the deployment of transmission-scale BESS across the UK. We’re proud to have brought this project through its critical early stages of development, and we’re confident it will play an instrumental role in supporting a more resilient energy system.”
In March, Zenobē secured financing for the 400 MW Eccles battery energy storage project located in Scotland, which is expected to reach commercial operation in early 2027.
According to Mercom’s 1H and Q2 2025 Funding and M&A Report for Energy Storage, there were three M&A transactions in the energy storage sector, down from 14 in the first half of 2024.
In July, ContourGlobal, a renewable energy power generation company, announced the acquisition of battery energy storage projects totaling 1.6 GW with a storage duration of up to eight hours, located in Italy.
