Eni Storage Systems broke ground at an industrial site in Italy on July 6 for a new BESS assembly plant and manufacturing hub for lithium iron phosphate batteries.

Eni Storage, which is majority owned by Eni Industrial Evolution (51%) and the Seri Industrial Group (Fib), said the Brindisi site — where preliminary activities were  launched last year — will host an integrated Italian and European LFP hub mainly dedicated to stationary BESS systems.

The project envisages a total production capacity of 16GWh per year by 2030 (half in Brindisi and half at Fib’s Teverola plant in Italy) — which the company said is equivalent to more than 10% of the European market for stationary energy storage systems.

The development plan includes building a plant for the production of battery cells and modules together with a BESS assembly plant. The assembly facility will be able to assemble battery modules also supplied by Fib’s Teverola factory.

In the second phase of development, the site will also host production of LFP cathode active material and battery recycling to serve the Brindisi and Teverola gigafactories.

The ground-breaking ceremony was attended by Italy’s minister for enterprises and ‘made in Italy’, Adolfo Urso.

Eni chief operating officer Giuseppe Ricci said: “This investment will establish an innovative local value chain capable of generating employment and strengthening strategic autonomy from non-EU markets, while reducing emissions without compromising competitiveness.”

A report released last month by EUROBAT said lithium is set to remain the dominant battery tech over the next decade ― but lead batteries are forecast to remain the second strongest technology.

The European battery trade association, which released the fourth edition of its Battery Innovation Roadmap in Brussels on June 17, said lithium was expected to account for about 80% of the market (around 6TWh).