With SMAREG 12, we are sending a clear signal for the economic development of the battery storage market in 2025: The project is one of the first in Germany to implement a tolling model for the marketing of storage capacity.
This model creates predictable revenue structures and combines them with market-driven opportunities—an approach that makes SMAREG 12 an economic milestone.
Tolling as the core of the marketing concept
The central idea of the project is the clear separation between technical management and commercial use of available capacity. SMAREG 12 uses a hybrid marketing model:
- 80% of capacity is allocated via a tolling agreement, ensuring stable, predictable revenues.
- 20% of capacity is marketed in the merchant model – enabling flexible market participation and additional opportunities.
Next Kraftwerke (Shell) was brought on board as a partner for operational management and market integration.
This model shows how battery storage can be integrated economically and how security and flexibility can be combined—an approach that will continue to gain importance in the market in the future.
Technical project basis
Even though SMAREG 12 focuses on the economic approach, the technical basis remains a decisive factor:
- Location: Vöhringen, Bayern
- Power/capacity: 20 MW/40 MWh
Why tolling is relevant for battery storage
SMAREG 12 demonstrates the added value that a structured tolling model can bring in the context of energy storage:
- Planning security through reliable, long-term revenues
- Risk diversification through a combination of fixed and flexible components
- Clear division of roles between operator, marketer, and capacity purchaser
- Attractiveness for financing partners, as revenue structures can be mapped early on
In conjunction with the technical platform architecture (modular design, integrated interfaces, high scalability), this creates a model that can be transferred both economically and technically to future large-scale storage systems in the 100 MW class.
Outlook: Tolling as a model for the future
SMAREG 12 zeigt, wie sich Batteriespeicher künftig strukturiert, replizierbar und wirtschaftlich nachhaltig betreiben lassen. Durch die Kombination aus Tolling und flexiblem Merchant-Anteil entsteht ein Modell, das sowohl is attractive for both investors and energy companies.
With SMAREG 12, we are creating a foundation on which future large-scale projects can be built – technically, economically and structurally.
