Tesla, NatPower to build 25 GWh battery storage in Europe

Europe’s power system is moving from a race to build wind and solar into a race to make those assets usable hour by hour. NatPower and Tesla said on June 23, 2026, that they had agreed to develop 25 gigawatt hours of battery storage in Italy and Britain, the first phase of a project that could cost as much as $5 billion and eventually grow beyond 100 GWh. The companies said five initial projects would go first, and that the wider program could generate more than $15 billion in revenue over 20 years. For grids facing heavier swings in supply and demand, that matters because large batteries can soak up surplus power when renewable output is strong and release it when wind or solar dips.

The scale is striking when set against the current storage base in each market. Britain’s operational grid-scale battery fleet reached 11.8 GWh in the first quarter of 2026, while Italy’s installed energy-storage capacity had climbed to 18.8 GWh. On that comparison, the new 25 GWh phase would be more than twice Britain’s present fleet and about one-third larger than Italy’s base. Tesla says Megapack is a utility-scale battery built to stabilize the grid and prevent outages, while Autobidder is a real-time trading and control platform that helps owners optimize battery dispatch in wholesale electricity markets.

NatPower said the projects will be owned and operated by NatPower, while Tesla will supply Megapack, EPC services and bankable trading services through Autobidder. That structure is designed to bundle hardware, engineering, market access and revenue management into one package, a sign that the difficult part is no longer battery chemistry but grid connection and delivery. NatPower has already shown how large it wants to think: in March 2024, it said it planned to invest £10 billion to build 60 GWh of battery storage in Britain, including three battery storage GigaParks in 2024, ten more planning applications in 2025 and £600 million for new substations to relieve bottlenecks.

“The sector has access to technology and capital but still struggles to deliver infrastructure consistently and within the required timelines,” Fabrizio Zago said. That is the credibility test for a program spanning two countries and aiming to exceed 100 GWh: if NatPower can secure sites, permits and grid links quickly enough, the batteries could cut blackout risk, smooth renewable integration and damp electricity price volatility. If it cannot, the $5 billion headline will remain a promise rather than a power-system shift.