Zeewolde Wind Farm Takes the Next Step in Addressing Grid Congestion with Elestor’s Long-Duration Storage

Zeewolde Wind Farm and Elestor have entered into a partnership for the phased implementation of a large-scale hydrogen-iron flow battery at the largest onshore wind farm in the Netherlands. The project involves a 20-megawatt storage system with a storage duration of 10 to 40 hours and a storage capacity of 200 to 800 megawatt-hours.
The battery will be connected to the Closed Distribution System at the Vogelweg High-Voltage Substation, to which the Zeewolde Wind Farm is also connected. This will allow for better utilization of generated wind energy, help limit peak loads on the grid, and enable more effective use of existing grid capacity.

From Wind Farm to Energy Hub

The Zeewolde Wind Farm is wholly owned by the local community. More than 200 farmers, residents, and business owners from the rural areas around Zeewolde are involved in the wind farm. By implementing long-duration storage, the wind farm—which will soon operate under the name Energiehub Zeewolde—is taking the next step in its development into an energy hub, where sustainable generation, storage, and flexible use are combined more intelligently.

Long-term storage makes it possible to store wind energy when supply is high and to use it later when demand is higher or the grid has more capacity. This helps limit curtailment—the temporary reduction or shutdown of renewable generation.

Phased approach

The project is being implemented in phases. Next year, Elestor will build its final pre-commercial unit to demonstrate the functionality and market readiness of hydrogen-iron flow battery technology in practice. This will be followed by upscaling to a commercial battery. The target storage system of 20 megawatts, with a storage duration of 10 to 40 hours, is expected to be achieved in 2031. This approach makes it possible to carefully incorporate technical, operational, and commercial insights and to systematically reduce risks.

For Elestor, this is an important step toward the commercial application of its technology. The planned installation demonstrates how long-duration storage can be applied to large-scale wind power generation and, depending on the final configuration and schedule, will be one of the larger flow battery projects in Europe.

“The Zeewolde Wind Farm aims not only to generate sustainable electricity, but also to use it more intelligently. With long-term storage, we are taking an important step toward the energy system of the future.”
Maarten de Keijzer, Director of the Zeewolde Wind Farm

“For Elestor, this marks a major milestone in the upscaling of our hydrogen-iron flow battery technology. The combination of large-scale wind power generation and long-duration storage demonstrates how we can bring more flexibility, reliability, and renewable energy into the system.”
Hylke van Bennekom, CEO of Elestor

Elestor’s hydrogen-iron flow battery technology was developed for long-term and repeated storage of electricity and uses widely available materials such as hydrogen and iron. Through this partnership, Windpark Zeewolde and Elestor are demonstrating how local renewable energy and long-term storage can together contribute to a more flexible and reliable energy system.

On-site photos featuring Jesper Neeleman (Project Manager, H2Park), Maarten de Keijzer (Director, Zeewolde Wind Farm), Hylke van Bennekom (CEO, Elestor), and Floris van Dijk (Business Development Manager, Elestor)