Energy Storage Systems Market: Invinity's 2.1GWh VRFB Deal

Invinity Energy Systems Confirms EPC Partner for 2.1GWh Landmark Flow Battery in Switzerland 

LAUFENBERG, Switzerland  August 24, 2026  Invinity Energy Systems, a UK-Canadian vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) technology company, has formally confirmed the award of an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract to Equans Switzerland for its 2.1GWh grid-scale flow battery project in Laufenberg  a development that stands to deliver the world's largest operational VRFB installation and marks a significant milestone for the global Energy Storage Systems (ESS) market. 

The project, integrated within the Laufenberg Technology Center (TZL) a large-scale data centre campus being developed by energy and digital infrastructure company FlexBase  is designed as an initial 1.5GWh modular VRFB system, with a planned expansion capacity of 2.1GWh. Equans Switzerland, a provider of buildings, infrastructure, and energy services, will deliver mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) services alongside other technical works. 

According to Invinity, engineering and detailed design activities are "well advanced" and proceeding on schedule, with key construction milestones already achieved. The company also disclosed that its globally deployed systems have recently surpassed 10GWh of cumulative energy dispatch, representing an 85% year-on-year increase since 2025. 

Key Highlights: 

• World-record scale: The Laufenberg VRFB installation is set to become the world's largest flow battery project upon completion, based on current public announcements the first at this scale outside of China. 

• Technology differentiation: Unlike lithium-ion systems, VRFB technology decouples power and energy components, enabling cost-effective long-duration energy storage (LDES) exceeding 8 hours, with non-flammable characteristics and no cell degradation risk. 

• Strategic EPC partnership: Equans Switzerland was selected following a "demanding evaluation process," with prior collaboration between the two firms on a flow battery project in Belgium providing established operational precedent. 

• Data centre application: The TZL project is positioned as a global proof point for VRFB technology in next-generation digital infrastructure, supporting renewable energy integration, grid stability, and sustainable power supply for AI-driven data centre operations. 

Analyst Insight: 

According to analysts at Next Move Strategy Consulting, the Invinity-Equans contract award reflects a broader structural shift in the ESS market toward long-duration, non-lithium storage technologies, particularly for applications where lithium-ion systems face inherent technical limitations. NMSC analysts note that the global ESS market valued at USD 460.95 billion in 2024 and projected to reach USD 1,088.65 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 15.4% is increasingly being shaped by large-scale infrastructure deployments that require durability, fire safety, and scalable energy capacity over extended discharge periods. The Laufenberg project, combining VRFB technology with data centre demand, exemplifies the convergence of digital infrastructure growth and grid-scale energy storage investment that is expected to accelerate market expansion through the decade. 

Industry Outlook: 

The confirmation of the Laufenberg EPC contract signals a pivotal moment for the long-duration energy storage segment within the broader ESS industry. While lithium-ion technology continues to dominate short- and medium-duration applications accounting for the majority of electrochemical storage deployments globally the Invinity-FlexBase-Equans collaboration demonstrates that vanadium redox flow batteries are gaining commercial traction in applications where performance requirements exceed what lithium-ion can reliably deliver. 

As data centre power demand intensifies alongside the global expansion of AI infrastructure, the need for non-flammable, high-throughput, and long-duration storage solutions is expected to grow substantially. Europe, in particular, is emerging as a key proving ground for LDES technologies, supported by regulatory frameworks aligned with decarbonization targets and grid modernization mandates. 

The Laufenberg project, if completed as planned, will serve as a reference installation for the global energy storage industry potentially accelerating investment in VRFB and other flow battery technologies across utility, industrial, and digital infrastructure sectors. 

Source: Energy-Storage.News

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Prepared By: Sanyukta Deb