Dutch and Lithuanian Batteries Go Live, Lifting Europe’s Storage Build

Two very different batteries have switched on in Europe within days of each other. Return‘s 100 MW / 200 MWh Antares system in the Netherlands has started commercial operation ahead of schedule. Meanwhile, European Energy‘s 25 MW / 65 MWh solar-linked battery in Lithuania formally opened, pushing the country past 1 GW of grid-connected battery storage.

The pair show the two main ways European battery storage is being built. One sits alone on the high-voltage grid. The other shares a site and a grid connection with a solar farm.

Timing matters here. A project that finishes early starts earning sooner, and a project that slips carries costs before it pays anything back.

Antares and Anykščiai: what actually switched on, and how late or early

Antares came in early. Return announced construction in Waddinxveen, western Netherlands, on 24 April 2025, and at the time signalled go-live around mid-2026. Integrator Alfen pointed to operations by the end of 2026.

Return now says construction, grid connection, testing and commissioning are all complete, and its locations page lists Antares as “Operational” under a COA / Fixed Tolling model. It is the first Dutch battery wired directly into TenneT‘s 150 kV transmission network, built from more than 600 Alfen TheBattery Elements modules with support from engineering firm SPIE Nederland.

Lithuania’s project took the slower road. European Energy said in January 2026 that the battery was built and would run from February 2026. Grid connection was reported on 16 June 2026, and the official opening came on 2 October 2026.

The solar park is expected to generate about 80,000 MWh a year. Speaking to ESS News, the company’s Baltic head framed the project as a demonstration of the two technologies operating together.

Tadeušas Konkovskis, Vice President and Head of the Baltic Region, European Energy The project adds flexibility to the grid and shows solar and storage working together, he told ESS News.

The opening lifted Lithuania’s grid-connected batteries above 1 GW / 2 GWh, surpassing the Kruonis pumped hydro plant in power rating.

Delivery record is the first thing to weigh if you track developers. An early finish at a transmission-level site tells you execution risk was managed, while Lithuania’s eight-month slip shows timelines still vary widely.

Standalone or solar-hybrid: where does each battery earn its money?

Same lithium-ion technology, very different income.

Tolling, merchant arbitrage and balancing income are the main battery storage revenue models, and each distributes price risk differently between the asset owner and the offtaker.

Antares: contracted and transmission-connected

Vattenfall is Antares’ long-term offtaker under a fixed tolling deal. Tolling means the buyer pays set fees for the right to use the battery’s capacity, so Return’s revenue is contracted rather than merchant (exposed to day-to-day market prices).

The direct TenneT link lets the battery ease grid congestion and help balance the system. That makes Antares unusual: the Dutch operating fleet of about 0.7 GW / 1.5 GWh (Modo Energy, Q3 2026) is mostly co-located, and that figure may not yet include Antares. Modo counts a further 3.2 GW / 12 GWh in the pipeline by 2029, taking the fleet to roughly 3.9 GW.

Anykščiai: co-located and stacked

The Lithuanian battery uses the solar park’s existing grid connection, which cuts connection costs and avoids a separate queue. It also reduces curtailment, where solar output is wasted because the grid cannot absorb it. Lithuania’s grid has been absorbing more renewables since Baltic synchronisation with continental Europe in 2025.

The two revenue models compare like this:

• Standalone (Antares): fixed tolling fees, siting at congested nodes, access to ancillary services and wholesale optimisation
• Hybrid (Anykščiai): arbitrage on solar output (storing cheap midday power and selling it later), balancing and flexibility services, potentially capacity payments

Research does not detail which specific balancing products Anykščiai sells, and neither country publishes connection-queue data that would show how scarce these grid slots are.

The contrast tells you a tolled standalone asset and a hybrid chasing balancing revenue carry different risks. Judge which exposure suits your view before treating all storage as equivalent.

What does early commissioning mean for investors tracking the storage supply chain?

The build-out is moving quickly. Lithuania’s target was 1.5 GW by 2028, and the 1 GW milestone supports expectations it will be beaten by end-2026.

Lithuania’s milestone Grid-connected battery capacity now exceeds 1 GW / 2 GWh, more power than the Kruonis pumped hydro facility.

More is coming: a 12 MW / 50 MWh system in Telšiai is expected to connect in December 2026, and a 46 MW / 92 MWh Alytus battery is entering construction. Europe’s electrochemical storage passed about 48.7 GW by end-2025.

European Energy operates over 400 MW in Lithuania with about 800 MW in development, and on 26 August 2026 named Capalo AI to optimise two Baltic hybrids. It is also exporting the model, building a 40 MW / 80 MWh battery at its 58 MW Mokoan solar farm in Victoria, Australia. Backed by the Capacity Investment Scheme, the project reached financial close in July 2026, began construction in August 2026, and is expected to operate from mid-2027.

The encouragement has limits. Four risks keep it measured:

• Revenue cannibalisation: balancing markets can saturate as more batteries compete for the same services
• Connection delays: transmission connections are valuable but hard to secure
• Supply chain: cell availability, material price swings, tariffs and trade restrictions
• Merchant exposure: projects without long-term offtake carry full market risk

No quantified data on equipment pricing was available, so the supply-chain read stays directional. Fast build-out tells you demand for equipment and integration work is real, but saturation risk means you should favour contracted revenue and strong counterparties over headline capacity.

Cell availability and material price swings tie directly to lithium price volatility, which can reshape project budgets between final investment decision and delivery.

What these two commissionings do and do not prove

Both batteries are now running, which confirms that standalone and hybrid designs can each be delivered in Europe. Neither proves long-run returns once balancing markets fill.

Three markers are worth watching:

• Updated Dutch fleet data that includes Antares
• Lithuania’s year-end capacity against its 2028 target
• Mokoan’s progress toward its mid-2027 start

This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Investors should conduct their own research and consult with financial professionals before making investment decisions. Forward-looking statements are speculative and subject to change based on market developments and company performance.