Engie’s 320MWh Drogenbos battery in Belgium shows how grid-scale storage, smart software and capacity markets are converging to make green power reliable.
Most companies still treat grid-scale batteries as exotic pilot projects. Engie just treated them like core infrastructure.
On 10 December 2025, Engie confirmed it’s hiring its former subsidiary NHOA Energy to deliver an 80MW/320MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) at Drogenbos, near Brussels. It’s the third large project in Engie’s Belgian portfolio and pushes the country’s utility‑scale storage capacity above 1.5GWh.
This matters because battery storage is quickly becoming the “missing link” between renewable energy targets and real-world energy security. For anyone working in green technology, energy, or sustainability strategy, Drogenbos is a concrete example of how policy, technology and business models are finally lining up.
In this article, I’ll break down what Engie and NHOA are actually building, why Belgium is moving so fast, and what this tells you if you’re planning your own clean energy or grid-scale storage strategy.
1. What Engie Is Building In Belgium – And Why It’s A Big Deal
Engie’s new Drogenbos BESS is an 80MW/320MWh system based on NHOA Energy’s NHEXUS platform. In practice, that means:
- 80MW of power: how fast it can inject or absorb electricity
- 320MWh of energy: how long it can sustain that power (about 4 hours at full output)
- 88 battery containers: modular blocks that can be installed, operated, and serviced like any other industrial asset
Construction starts in March 2026, with commercial operations planned for November 2027, backed by a 15‑year capacity contract won in Belgium’s latest Capacity Remuneration Mechanism (CRM) auction.
Here’s the thing about this project: Drogenbos isn’t a one-off. It’s the third leg of Engie’s Belgian storage strategy:
- Vilvoorde: 200MW/800MWh (first phase already online, second phase due January 2026)
- Kallo: 100MW/400MWh (under construction, also using NHOA tech)
- Drogenbos: 80MW/320MWh (just awarded, NHOA again)
Combined, that’s 380MW and 1.5GWh of grid‑scale battery storage anchored around Brussels and key grid nodes. At this point, Engie isn’t experimenting. It’s building a platform.
For the wider green technology story, this is exactly the kind of portfolio-style deployment we need: repeatable, standardised projects that deliver real grid services, not PR headlines.
2. Why Belgium Is Rushing Into Battery Storage
Belgium isn’t building big batteries for fun. It’s doing it because the old system is disappearing.
The nuclear phase‑out and winter security problem
Belgium is phasing down its nuclear fleet and reducing dependence on fossil generation. That’s good news for decarbonisation, but it creates a serious winter reliability risk:
- Demand peaks in cold, dark months
- Solar output falls
- Gas prices are volatile
- Interconnectors can’t be the only backup
To avoid blackouts and price spikes, the Belgian federal government created the Capacity Remuneration Mechanism (CRM). In short, CRM pays assets not just for the energy they produce, but for the firm capacity they guarantee to be available when the grid needs it most.
Blocky statement worth remembering: capacity payments are what turn grid-scale batteries from speculative bets into bankable infrastructure.
Engie’s Drogenbos project locked in a 15‑year CRM contract in the fifth auction round. That revenue certainty is what makes a 320MWh asset financeable in the first place.
Why batteries won those CRM contracts
Traditionally, capacity markets were dominated by gas plants and other thermal assets. Belgium’s recent CRM rounds show a clear shift: grid‑scale batteries are now winning a growing share of awards because they can:
- Start in milliseconds rather than minutes or hours
- Provide multiple services from the same asset (capacity, frequency, balancing, arbitrage)
- Support renewables rather than compete with them
- Deliver firm capacity without adding to long-term carbon lock‑in
In other words, batteries are no longer a “nice-to-have” green technology layer. They’re a central planning tool for how countries keep the lights on in a low‑carbon power system.
3. Inside The Tech: NHOA’s NHEXUS Platform and Grid Services
NHOA Energy, formerly Engie EPS before its sale to Taiwan Cement Corporation, is supplying its NHEXUS platform across both Kallo and Drogenbos.
What NHEXUS brings to the table
NHEXUS is a utility‑scale energy storage platform with three key ingredients that matter for grid-scale deployments:
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Advanced battery management systems (BMS)
The BMS controls thousands of cells across 88 containers, optimising:- State of charge (SoC)
- Temperature management
- Charge/discharge profiles for lifetime and performance
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Grid‑forming capabilities
This is where modern storage tech becomes a true grid asset. Grid‑forming inverters can:- Provide virtual inertia
- Set voltage and frequency rather than just follow them
- Support “islanded” operation in microgrids or during faults
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Utility‑grade integration
Designed for large applications, NHEXUS is already deployed in several European markets. That track record matters to investors and system operators who don’t want to be first in line for every new technology risk.
The services these batteries will actually provide
Engie’s Belgian battery fleet is being designed for a stack of complementary services:
- Frequency regulation – keeping the grid at 50 Hz within tight tolerance
- Voltage support – reactive power and voltage control in congested areas
- Capacity adequacy – being available during peak demand events, especially in winter
- Energy arbitrage – charging in low-price, high-renewable periods, discharging during peaks
- Cross-border balancing – helping stabilise interconnected European grids via transmission links around Brussels
From a business model standpoint, this diversity of revenue streams is crucial. From a green technology perspective, it’s the difference between storage as a niche add-on and storage as structural infrastructure.
4. AI, Optimisation, and The Real Value Of Big Batteries
Large-scale BESS projects live or die on how smart their operations are. Hardware is only half the story; the other half is software and optimisation.
Why AI is quietly central to projects like Drogenbos
You don’t make money with a 320MWh asset by guessing when to charge and discharge. You need algorithms that can:
- Forecast prices on 15‑minute or shorter intervals
- Model grid constraints and congestion
- Predict renewable output and load profiles
- Decide when to prioritise frequency services vs arbitrage vs capacity obligations
That’s where AI and advanced analytics come in. Modern storage operators use machine learning models to continuously re-optimise dispatch. I’ve seen portfolios where smart optimisation increased returns by 2–4 percentage points compared to rule‑based strategies.
Belgium’s move to finer settlement periods and increasingly dynamic markets only amplifies the value of intelligence on top of the battery.
How to think about AI if you’re planning storage or green tech projects
If you’re a utility, developer, or corporate energy buyer, there are three practical lessons here:
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Design for software from day one
Don’t bolt optimisation on at the end. Check early that the BESS technology stack exposes the data and control hooks your algorithms or third‑party optimisers will need. -
Treat data as an asset, not exhaust
Every cycle, temperature profile, alarm and dispatch decision is training data. The more structured and accessible it is, the more value AI can extract over the life of the asset. -
Model full lifecycle performance, not just year‑one returns
Smart algorithms don’t just chase short‑term revenue; they manage degradation. The most profitable portfolios over 10–15 years will be those that optimise both cash flow and battery health.
This is where the broader Green Technology narrative becomes very real: AI isn’t just making cute dashboards; it’s directly steering when, where, and how stored clean energy hits the grid.
5. Strategic Lessons For Utilities, Cities and Corporate Buyers
Engie’s Belgium portfolio is effectively a playbook for anyone serious about scaling green infrastructure. A few patterns are worth lifting directly.
1. Build portfolios, not one‑offs
Vilvoorde, Kallo, and Drogenbos share common technology, engineering partners, and a consistent commercial framework built around CRM revenues plus ancillary services. That unlocks:
- Lower engineering and permitting risk
- Replicable designs and faster delivery
- Better procurement terms with suppliers
If you’re a utility or city planning multiple sites, standardisation like this is your friend.
2. Anchor projects in stable policy mechanisms
Without the CRM, none of these projects would look as attractive to investors. For policymakers, this is a clear signal: if you want private capital to fund storage and other green technologies at scale, you need to:
- Put a price on capacity and flexibility
- Offer long‑term visibility (10–15 years, not 2–3)
- Keep auctions transparent with clear technology‑neutral rules
For developers and asset owners, the message is simple: go where the rules support your business model.
3. Choose locations that do more than one job
Drogenbos sits near Brussels, at a key node where Belgium’s grid connects to neighbouring markets. That location lets the BESS:
- Support domestic reliability
- Participate in cross‑border balancing
- Alleviate congestion near a major urban and industrial centre
When you’re siting batteries, don’t just look at cheap land. Look at:
- Proximity to high‑voltage nodes
- Interconnector flows
- Local industrial loads and EV charging corridors
Multi‑purpose locations dramatically improve both system impact and project economics.
4. Use integrated teams, not fragmented supply chains
Tractebel, Engie’s engineering subsidiary, is providing technical support at Drogenbos, while NHOA supplies the BESS tech and long-term service. That mix of internal engineering capacity plus external specialists is powerful. It mitigates risk, shortens feedback loops, and gives investors more confidence.
If you’re building your own green technology strategy, think in terms of long‑term partnerships, not one‑time EPC transactions.
6. Where This Fits In The Bigger Green Technology Story
Engie’s 320MWh Drogenbos project is more than a national news item; it’s another marker of where the energy transition is heading in Europe.
Here’s the broader pattern:
- Renewables are now cheap, but intermittent.
- Storage provides the flexibility and firmness needed to rely on those renewables for national energy security.
- AI and advanced software orchestrate everything in real time.
For readers following our Green Technology series, this is a textbook example of how clean energy, digital intelligence, and new market design come together in the real world.
If you’re:
- A utility or grid operator: portfolio-scale BESS anchored in capacity markets is no longer experimental; it’s becoming standard infrastructure.
- A city or region: strategically sited batteries can support resilience, integrate more local renewables, and reinforce interconnections.
- A corporate energy buyer or investor: long-term contracted batteries are a credible tool to back up PPAs, stabilise costs, and meet decarbonisation targets.
The projects we’re seeing in Belgium today are the templates other countries will copy over the next five years. The question isn’t whether large‑scale storage will become core to your energy system or business plan; the question is how fast you’ll move and how intelligently you’ll structure it.
If you’re planning a storage strategy or broader green technology roadmap, this is the moment to start thinking in portfolios, revenue stacks, and AI‑driven optimisation—not just in megawatts on a PowerPoint slide.