Axpo Signs Tolling Deal for Zelestra's 207MW Battery Storage Project in Italy

Axpo has signed a ten-year physical tolling agreement with Zelestra for the company's planned 207 megawatt battery energy storage system in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, northeastern Italy. The project, to be built, owned and operated by Zelestra, will provide approximately 830 megawatt-hours of storage capacity, with construction expected to begin in 2027 and commercial operations planned for 2028.

 

Under the agreement, Axpo will provide optimisation services enabling the battery system to integrate growing volumes of renewable electricity while delivering flexibility services to the Italian grid. Tolling agreements of this kind give the project operator, Zelestra, long-term revenue visibility, since the arrangement provides a defined commercial structure rather than relying entirely on volatile short-term market pricing to generate returns from the battery's charging and discharging activity.

 

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The project targets Friuli-Venezia Giulia specifically as one of Italy's most heavily industrialised regions, positioning the storage capacity to support growing renewable energy adoption in an area with substantial existing electricity demand. Battery storage systems of this scale are increasingly positioned as essential infrastructure for grids absorbing more intermittent solar and wind generation, since they can store surplus renewable output and release it when generation dips or demand peaks.

 

Simone Rodolfi, Axpo Italia's head of origination and structured products, described the deal as the company's first battery storage agreement in Italy and framed flexible generation as a cornerstone of the country's energy transition. Zelestra Italy chief executive Eliano Russo said the project, combined with the Axpo agreement, makes Zelestra the second-largest owner of authorised battery storage capacity in Italy at 970 megawatts, reinforcing the company's position in the country's growing storage sector. Zelestra, backed by global investment firm EQT, was recently ranked by BloombergNEF among the top ten sellers of clean energy to corporate customers globally and in the US.

 

Source: Zelestra.