Southeast Europe is developing battery-storage projects using both merchant and state-backed financing models. The structures vary with market depth and the value storage provides to the power system. Romania’s 127 MW / 254 MWh Scornicesti project follows a merchant approach, while projects in North Macedonia and Montenegro use state-backed or strategic-partner structures.
The standalone Scornicesti battery project is financed on a non-recourse basis through a package from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), with support from InvestEU. Its bankability depends on optimisation, market access and the allocation of risks. It does not rely on a long-term fixed-price power contract.
Merchant batteries can offer greater upside and faster replication by the private sector, but their leverage depends on downside protection. Contracted or state-backed projects can support longer financing tenors and a lower cost of capital. However, those structures may dilute market incentives.
State-backed and strategic-partner projects
In North Macedonia, the state-backed Bitola project is planned at 100 MW / 400 MWh, with estimated costs of 98 million euros. Its financing is based on sovereign guarantees and concessional finance. Participation by the EBRD, KfW, climate finance and the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF) is envisaged.
The Bitola project’s case also rests on system benefits, including balancing, reduced curtailment and improved reliability. These benefits can matter where the value a battery provides to the grid exceeds revenue that can readily be monetised in energy markets.
Montenegro is pursuing a hybrid strategic-partner model. Its latest framework envisages a 60 MW / 240 MWh reference battery in the first phase, alongside a broader partnership structure. A strategic investor could assume some technology and implementation risk, while the utility remains involved.
The expected regional mix includes merchant projects where liquidity and balancing markets are sufficiently deep, as well as infrastructure-style batteries where grid value exceeds easily monetised market revenue. The financing model depends on market depth and the value storage delivers to the power system.