Developer acquires site as it looks to power up £300m investment into battery storage

European real asset investment, development and fund management firm, Catalyst Capital, has acquired a site next to the M1 motorway in Leeds to development of a 100MW battery storage facility.

Catalyst Energy Storage Platform (CESP), headed by John Parsons, has acquired the brownfield site at the former Skelton Grange power station, south east of Leeds, from renewable energy developer Referent as part of £300m deal.

The site is part of a regional hub for renewable energy and is adjacent to a 19.5-acre waste-to-energy facility, which is currently under construction and close to the Leeds City Region Enterprise Zone and Veolia’s existing energy from waste plant.

Planning permission was granted last year for a 100MW battery storage facility at the site and CESP has appointed engineering adviser, Fitchner, to manage the tendering process with the intention that the site will be operational in the fourth quarter of this year.

The site is one of a series being acquired by Catalyst as part of its diversified UK battery storage facility strategy, which will support the Government’s ambition to move the country to be powered by green energy by 2030.

Kean Hird, partner of Catalyst Capital, said: “John and his team have been researching this sector for some time and we believe there is a compelling opportunity to deliver a portfolio of UK battery storage facilities. This portfolio will give our investors the opportunity to invest into a scalable market with high ESG credentials in the renewables sector. Although the sector is still in evolution, it is quickly gaining institutional status, while delivering very healthy cash-on-cash returns in the interim”.

Catalyst was advised on the transaction by Freeths and Fitchner.