GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY MARKS COMMENCEMENT OF ONE OF FINLAND’S LARGEST BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM (BESS) PROJECT IN NIVALA

SEB Nordic Energy’s portfolio company Locus Energy, in collaboration with Ingrid Capacity, proudly announces the groundbreaking of one of Finland's largest battery energy storage system (BESS) in Nivala Municipality, Northern Ostrobothnia. After the start of commercial operations in 2026, the project will contribute an important balancing function to the Finnish grid, supporting the Finnish renewable energy expansion.

The groundbreaking ceremony took place in the afternoon on Monday the 26th of May on the site near Nivala where the battery energy storage system will be built. The ceremony, marking a major milestone in the project development, was attended by representatives from Nivala Municipality, Fingrid and other key stakeholders from Finlands political landscape and energy sector.

“We’re proud to see construction begin in Nivala,” said Päivi Karikumpu, Mayor of Nivala. “This investment strengthens the local economy and significantly supports Finland’s broader energy goals. We look forward to continuing our close collaboration on this transformative project.”

Finland’s continued development of renewable energy production, mainly from wind power, is in line with the Finnish energy strategy centered on reaching carbon neutrality by 2035. However, it introduces volatility to the Finnish energy system, increasing the need for flexibility. Energy storage systems offer a solution.

“This groundbreaking is an important moment for Finland’s energy transition and a concrete step toward a more flexible, resilient, and decarbonized energy system,” said Jussi Jyrinsalo, Senior Vice President at Fingrid. “We welcome Ingrid Capacity and Locus Energy’s contribution to our shared mission of enabling a reliable and renewable-powered grid.”

The 70 MW/140MWh project is a strategic investment that, after start of commercial operation in 2026, will support Locus Energy’s ambition to create a system premium by optimizing the output from the different assets in the portfolio. Battey energy storage systems can, together with hydro power, balance the volatile production from the portfolios wind- and solar power assets, allowing Locus Energy to work with the assets as a system.

Different assets have different characteristics. Some offer baseload, some are intermittent and some can be regulated. Together with batteries a healthy mix can be created,” said Niklas Sörensen, Founding Partner, CEO & General Manager at Locus Energy. “This project reflects the growing synergy between energy storage and renewable generation. We’re excited to deepen our partnership with Ingrid Capacity in another key market.”

“SEB Nordic Energy is exited to follow this project into the next phase of construction. This project will support the renewable energy transition in Finland which is in line with SEB Nordic Energy funds mission to accelerate renewable energy solutions. We look forward to seeing the project reach it’s commercial operations date in 2026”, says Richard Gavel, portfolio Manager, SEB Nordic Energy.

The Nivala battery energy storage system marks the second collaboration project between Locus Energy and Ingrid Capacity. The first project, currently under construction, consists of 13 new grid scale battery energy storage systems across the south of Sweden, and is planned to add an additional 196 MW of flexible capacity to the national grid in price areas SE3 and SE4.

“We are thrilled to take the next step on this important project together with Locus Energy, said Nicklas Bäcker, Chief Strategy Officer at Ingrid Capacity. “This is a major step in our mission to bring grid flexibility to the forefront of the energy transition. The cooperation with stakeholders - particularly the municipality of Nivala and Fingrid - has been excellent. We’re honored to contribute to Finland’s energy security and system stability.”

SEB Nordic Energy SEB Nordic Energy is focusing on direct investments in renewable energy infrastructure assets in the Nordic region. Investments are being made in small-scale hydropower, wind power, solar energy and geothermal energy, both through new construction and through upgrading of existing facilities to increase efficiency and energy production. The fund is open to professional investors with an investment horizon of more than 15 years and is a so-called Article 9 fund with sustainable investments as its objective. SEB Nordic Energy | SEB (sebgroup.com)

Locus Energy is a portfolio company of the Article 9 fund SEB Nordic Energy with access to Nordic institutional capital. Locus Energy invests in assets for sustainable local energy production that can be upgraded with new technology to accelerate development and is currently present through direct investments in 61 Nordic municipalities.

For further information, please contact:
Niklas Sörensen, CEO, Locus Energy, niklas@locus.energy +46 70 268 97 35
Richard Gavel, Portfolio manager, SEB Nordic Energy, richard.gavel@seb.se + 46 70 772 32 53