Chinese energy storage solutions firm Hithium Energy Storage Technology Company (Hithium) and the local Nabilah AlTunisi have formed a joint venture that will manufacture battery energy storage systems (bess) in Saudi Arabia.

The joint venture is called Hithium Manat. The planned manufacturing facility has an annual production capacity target of 5 gigawatt-hours (GWh), according to an official statement.

Hithium launched energy storage solutions designed for the region's harsh environment during a solar and storage conference held in Riyadh.

According to Hithium, "These systems feature advanced sandstorm protection and robust high and low-temperature designs, supporting ultra-long discharge cycles of 12+ hours."

It added that the new product line is "customised to meet the unique demands of the Middle East and Africa region".

Nabilah AlTunisi is the founder and owner of Hithium Manat's local partner.

"This strategic alliance will not only provide access to world-class energy storage technology but also generate local employment opportunities, stimulate technological innovation and actively contribute to realising the kingdom's Vision 2030 objectives," AlTunisi said.

Battery energy storage market

In August, National Grid Saudi Arabia, a subsidiary of state utility Saudi Electricity Company, awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts for three energy storage systems to Riyadh-based investment group Algihaz Holding. The estimated $800m projects are located in Najran, Madaya and Khamis Mushait.

National Grid also recently tendered contracts for the construction of five battery energy storage systems with a total combined capacity of 2,500MW across the kingdom.

The planned facilities, each with a capacity of 500MW or roughly 2,000 megawatt-hours, are located in or within proximity of the following key cities and load centres:

• Riyadh
• Qaisumah
• Dawadmi
• Al-Jouf
• Rabigh

Every utility in the region is procuring or planning to procure bess capacity in light of growing intermittent renewable power in their grids.

The overall capacity of deployed bess globally is expected to reach 127GW by 2027, up from an estimated cumulative deployment of 36.7GW at the end of 2023, a GlobalData report issued in June said.

The report cited Chinese companies BYD and CATL and South Korean companies LG Energy Solutions and Samsung SDI among the top battery technology providers globally.