Sodium sulphur NAS battery asset development agreed

A consortium that includes EDF Energy and NGK Insulators, with Meiden and
JWD has signed an initial agreement to develop large scale sodium sulphur NAS
battery assets to provide ancillary services in the UK.

Large-scale NAS battery systems have been used in several locations across the
world to store energy and provide various applications such as load levelling,
stabilising renewable energy and the grid system and will be able to do so for many
years to come.

The consortium is working on the development of a demonstration project before
seeking to apply the technology more widely.

Martin Lawrence, managing director for energy sourcing and customer supply at EDF
Energy, said: "EDF Energy is delighted to be working with NGK, bringing their skills
and experience to the UK's energy market. This agreement is a significant and
exciting step in the development and potential use of this technology.

"As the UK's largest generator of low-carbon electricity, EDF Energy has a major role
to play in the UK power market. This innovative solution will provide energy and a
secure supply as well as help to maintain a robust grid during periods of high
demand."

A spokesperson from NGK said, "We are honoured to be working with EDF Energy to deploy the NAS battery in this innovative project. We look forward to this first installation of the NAS battery in UK. By linking our battery knowledge with EDF Energy's understanding of the British power market, we intend to demonstrate the value of reserve services supplied by a battery, instead of using conventional generating plant."