UK Completes Europe's Largest Vanadium Flow Battery as Invinity Delivers 20.7 MWh East Sussex Installation
Invinity Energy Systems has delivered 90 vanadium flow batteries to the Copwood VFB Energy Hub in East Sussex, forming Europe's largest such installation at 20.7 MWh, backed by UK government funding.
Overview
The UK has completed delivery of Europe’s largest vanadium flow battery installation, with Invinity Energy Systems shipping 90 batteries to a solar-paired energy hub in East Sussex. The 20.7-megawatt-hour Copwood VFB Energy Hub, backed by UK government funding, is expected to enter service later in 2026 and represents a milestone for long-duration energy storage technology in the country.
What We Know
The Copwood VFB Energy Hub in East Sussex pairs 90 vanadium flow batteries with a 3-megawatt solar array, according to Electrek. Once operational, the 20.7 MWh system will store excess solar energy generated during the day and discharge it to the grid at night and during peak demand periods, covering roughly the daily electricity needs of approximately 3,000 homes.
The batteries were assembled at Invinity’s facilities in Motherwell and Bathgate, Scotland, as reported by Interesting Engineering. Unlike conventional lithium-ion systems designed for short-burst storage, vanadium flow batteries use a water-based electrolyte and carry no fire risk, and are engineered for decades of heavy-duty cycling.
Funding for the project came from the UK National Wealth Fund and from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero through the British government’s Longer Duration Energy Storage demonstration program, according to Electrek. Invinity has also been selected for multiple bids under Ofgem’s Cap and Floor support scheme, which is designed to accelerate investment in long-duration storage projects.
Jonathan Marren, CEO of Invinity Energy Systems, said the project demonstrates a broader ambition. “This project is about far more than a single battery system, it is proof that Britain can build the infrastructure needed to transform the country into a clean energy superpower,” Marren said, according to Interesting Engineering. “By building Europe’s largest vanadium flow battery here in Britain, and manufacturing it in Scotland, we’re showing that the clean energy transition can strengthen our energy security, cut system costs and create skilled industrial jobs at home.”
Marren also framed the technology as a necessary complement to expanding wind and solar capacity. “If we are serious about delivering a power system dominated by renewables, we must stop wasting the energy we work so hard to generate. Long-duration storage is the missing piece that turns intermittent wind and solar into reliable, on-demand power,” he said, as reported by Electrek.
What We Don’t Know
Invinity has not disclosed the total cost of the Copwood VFB Energy Hub or the specific terms of its government grants. The exact start date for commercial operations has not been specified beyond “later in 2026.” Whether the Cap and Floor scheme bids Invinity has entered will result in further contracted revenue also remains to be announced.
Analysis
The Copwood project arrives as the UK government pursues a Clean Power 2030 target, with Ofgem’s Cap and Floor scheme intended to accelerate deployment of long-duration storage projects. Vanadium flow batteries have historically struggled to compete with lithium-ion on upfront cost, but their longer cycle life and absence of thermal-runaway risk make them attractive for grid-scale applications where durability and safety are priorities.
Invinity’s claim that a broader rollout could support up to 1,000 manufacturing and industrial jobs in Scotland adds a domestic industrial policy dimension to a project that is also among the first large-scale demonstrations of the government’s long-duration storage program. Whether the Copwood hub’s performance accelerates further deployments under the Cap and Floor scheme will be a closely watched data point as the UK works toward a renewables-dominated grid by the decade’s end.