Altech Batteries (ASX: ATC) has signed an offtake letter of intent with Referenzkraftwerk Lausitz GmbH (RefLau) for up to 158 megawatt-hours (MWh) of CERENERGY GridPack energy storage capacity.

Under the terms of the agreement, RefLau will purchase 30MWh of storage in the first year of production from Altech’s planned CERENERGY sodium-chloride solid-state battery plant in Germany, followed by 32MWh per year for another four years.

RefLau also plans to purchase 10MWh of CERENERGY GridPack batteries from Altech for its own plant in the Schwarze Pumpe Industrial Park, while Altech will purchase green electricity at competitive prices directly from RefLau’s partners in the region for its 120MWh battery production plant.

Second offtake deal

The RefLau agreement is the second CERENERGY offtake deal signed this year and follows a maiden letter of intent in September between Altech and German organisation Zweckverband Industriepark Schwarze Pumpe (ZISP) for an annual 30MWh of storage capacity.

Altech chief executive officer Iggy Tan said it is a clear signal of growing demand for the company’s innovative energy storage solutions.

“Demand is increasing, particularly as industries shift toward 100% renewable energy and it is encouraging to see potential customers like RefLau recognising the value of our scalable and reliable battery systems.”

The deal is expected to promote a close working relationship between the companies and enable Altech to enter the hydrogen business segment, in which conventional lithium-ion batteries cannot be used due to safety risks.

Green hydrogen project

RefLau is a green hydrogen pilot project joint venture between leading European utility companies Enertrag SE and Energiequelle GmbH that aims to develop a reference plant powered only by renewable energy.

The project seeks to mitigate supply gaps from solar and wind intermittency, enhancing grid stability with sector coupling and battery storage solutions.

Enertrag SE is part of the Uckerwerk Energietechnik GmbH group and is a leader in renewable energy, specialising in wind turbines, solar power, and power-to-gas systems.

Energiequelle GmbH focuses on renewable energy projects such as wind, biomass and solar power and aims to produce and market green hydrogen, partially converting it back to electricity.

Power island

RefLau aims to develop a hybrid power island using 80MW of solar and wind energy and incorporating 32 Altech Cerenergy 1MWh GridPacks, with Enertrag and Energiequelle purchasing the storage units.

The standardised solution is expected to be applied across Europe for decentralised energy solutions referred to as “energy islands.”

These can be integrated into the existing power grid as a preferred and cost-effective solution.