A Boost to Self-Sufficiency for the Municipal Utility in Fürstenfeld

NGEN built the facility from six Tesla Megapack 2 XL units in the two-hour configuration, giving 12 MW of power and 24 MWh of capacity. Construction took seven months. The system was officially commissioned on 7 February 2025, with Stadtwerke director Franz Friedl and Mayor Franz Jost present. At the time it was the largest battery storage facility in Austria.

The battery stands directly beside a pellet-fired wood-gas CHP plant that opened in November 2024, rated at 2 MW electrical and 3 MW thermal, and close to the town's 10 MW Flugplatz Süd solar farm. Both are run by Fürstenfelder Ökoenergie, a subsidiary of the municipal utility, which operates around 14.8 MW of solar in total. Generation and storage now work together in a town of about 9,000 people.

Software is what turns those components into one system. NGEN's platform coordinates the battery with the town's own generation, with the grid and with the energy markets, deciding continuously whether energy is stored, released or sold.

Fürstenfeld's utility had built up around 14.8 MW of solar alongside its new wood-gas CHP plant, enough to cover the electricity needs of roughly 5,600 households. That is substantial local generation, and it is variable by nature. Without storage, surplus solar leaves the site at low value, peak demand still presses on the grid, and supply reliability depends on the wider network.

In April 2024 the municipality and Stadtwerke Fürstenfeld decided to close that gap with a grid-scale battery that would stabilise the network, absorb surpluses and keep locally generated energy working for the town. Hardware on its own does not achieve that. A battery earns its full value only when software decides, in real time, whether to store the energy, release it or trade it.

The foundation is six Megapack 2 XL units: a two-hour system rated at 12 MW and 24 MWh, roughly a day's electricity for 2,000 households. The hardware sets the physical limits. The decisions are made by NGEN's platform.

The platform monitors the grid and the markets continuously, forecasts prices and system needs, and positions the battery accordingly. It moves capacity between ancillary services for grid stability and energy trading as conditions change. Locally, it coordinates the battery with Fürstenfeld's solar and CHP output, absorbing surpluses through the day and returning them at peak times.

Seven months from ground to grid

Construction completed in seven months, and commissioned on 7 February 2025, ten months after the decision to build.

Austria's largest at commissioning

12 MW and 24 MWh made it the country's largest battery storage facility when it entered service.

Stability at peak times

Grid stability and supply reliability for the town, with the battery positioned continuously by NGEN's platform.

One municipal energy system

The battery, around 14.8 MW of solar and the wood-gas CHP plant coordinated on a single platform.