Luftaufnahme einer Batteriespeicheranlage, die sich im Bau befindet.

Energy transition and infrastructure

Investments in battery storage

Battery storage is a cornerstone of the energy transition. As a key component of the energy infrastructure, it can absorb fluctuations in feed-in from renewable energy sources, balance out peak loads and increase grid stability. Whilst battery energy storage systems – or BESS for short – were in the past mostly planned as a supplement to wind or solar farms, so-called stand-alone storage systems have also been gaining in importance for some time now. The reason is simple: they provide energy at short notice, independently of generation plants, thereby improving security of supply.

In 2025, DAL Deutsche Anlagen-Leasing (DAL) supported several storage projects. Of particular note is the structuring of the financing for a construction phase of one of Germany’s largest battery storage facilities in Leuna, Saxony-Anhalt: for two of the five units now in operation, the Savings Banks network partner arranged the project funding with the help of a banking consortium led by DAL/Deutsche Leasing Finance. The storage facility now has a capacity of 500 MWh, enough to supply around 125,000 households with electricity for one day. It is even set to be expanded to 800 MWh in the course of 2026. In addition to the financed phase in Leuna, DAL also invested in large-scale battery storage facilities in Brietlingen, Lower Saxony, and in Herford, North Rhine-Westphalia, in 2025. It is currently supporting numerous other BESS projects for its clients in collaboration with financing partners from the Savings Banks Finance Group.

By around 60%,
Germany’s large-scale battery storage capacity grew in 2025.

2025 – A record year for the expansion of battery energy storage systems (BESS)

NORD/LB also emerged as a financier of battery storage systems in 2025: in Stendal, Saxony-Anhalt, it supported its first such initiative in Germany. The project, with a financing volume of 87 million euros, has a capacity of around 210 MWh. It also marks an important step for NORD/LB in the field of energy infrastructure. Following similar large-scale projects in the USA, the UK and France, the Landesbank is now increasingly applying its long-standing experience to battery storage in Germany as well.

Financing such projects is complex. Due to high investment costs, short technological innovation cycles and market-dependent revenues, hybrid, tailor-made solutions are often required. Added to this are political and regulatory uncertainties. However, through a combination of banking consortia, the incorporation of grant funding and long-term cash flow models, even stand-alone storage systems can be implemented in a financially viable manner. According to the German Solar Industry Association (BSW-Solar), the installed capacity of large-scale battery storage systems in Germany could even increase fivefold by the end of 2026. Through their project financing, partners such as DAL and NORD/LB are making an important contribution to stabilising the grids, transforming the energy infrastructure and, consequently, ensuring the success of the energy transition.