RWE and Polarium to market 50 MW / 135 MWh virtual battery via multi‑asset tolling
- RWE will optimise at least 50 MW (135 MWh) of distributed battery capacity from Polarium for trading from late 2026.
- Polarium aggregates over 1,600 behind‑the‑meter BESS across Germany into a cloud‑controlled virtual battery.
- The capacity is provided to RWE under a multi‑asset tolling agreement enabling market access and real‑time optimisation.
- Polarium aims to expand the portfolio to ~300 MW / 810 MWh and more than 10,000 individual battery systems.
Overview
RWE and Polarium will market battery flexibility by aggregating distributed behind‑the‑meter batteries into a cloud‑controlled virtual battery; RWE will optimise the aggregated capacity for trading and system balancing.
Capacity and timeline
From late 2026 RWE will optimise at least 50 MW (135 MWh) from Polarium’s aggregated portfolio of more than 1,600 BESS across Germany; Polarium expects to scale the portfolio to about 300 MW / 810 MWh and over 10,000 individual systems.
Commercial structure
The capacity is provided under a multi‑asset tolling agreement in which Polarium grants access to aggregated flexibility across relevant markets and RWE connects to the platform to access and optimise the combined capacity; the approach pools many distributed systems via the cloud rather than relying on a single large storage asset.
System benefits
Decentralised, behind‑the‑meter storage supports grid stability and renewable integration by reducing strain on individual grid nodes, improving performance, potentially extending asset lifetime and spreading operational risk; a single technical interface simplifies onboarding and helps maintain consistent performance standards across a diverse fleet.
Source: RWE