Estonia’s First Pumped-Hydro Energy Storage Project Zero Terrain partners with the Estonian government

TALLINN, Estonia, April, 2024The Estonian Ministry of Climate signs the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with energy company Zero Terrain to help Estonia achieve its 100% renewable energy goal by 2030. With this cooperation, Zero Terrain is collaborating closely with the government to devise solutions to enable the realisation of the pumped-hydro energy storage (PHS) project in Estonia, including supporting securing capital and addressing market challenges.

Additionally, Zero Terrain receives a grant of €1.98M from the state’s applied research programme to support Zero Terrain project development in Estonia and technology export.

The Zero Terrain Paldiski 500MW underground long-duration energy storage plant is a significant advancement of the conventional PHS technology, making it possible to build anywhere, even on flat land.

Zero Terrain Paldiski represents a notable milestone in the country’s energy system. Paldiski Pumped Hydro Energy Storage plant is an EU Project of Common Interest (PCI project). It is the only greenfield pumped hydro energy storage project in the Northern Baltic region and will also be the largest facility in the country.

“Signing the MoU is a significant step forward in Zero Terrain's journey towards a clean and secure energy future. We believe there can’t be a renewable energy-driven energy system without large-scale, long-duration energy storage. This collaboration signifies the cooperation and a commitment to driving positive change in the Estonian renewable energy landscape,“ says Peep Siitam, the Founder and CEO of Zero Terrain.

Estonia´s first long-duration energy storage project, Zero Terrain Paldiski, obtained the main building permits in December 2022. Construction of the country's first pumped-hydro storage plant will begin in 2025. During the nominal operating cycle of 12 hours, Zero Terrain Paldiski generates 6GWh of power to the grid, which is somewhat more than the average daily consumption of all Estonian households.

Zero Terrain also receives a grant of 1.98M€ from the state’s applied research programme. According to Siitam, the grant will be used to develop Zero Terrain modular design, start development activities in other countries, and involve new investors in Zero Terrain Paldiski, Estonia.

“Zero Terrain is developing large-scale energy storage technology, enabling Estonia and other countries to switch to renewable energy more widely with such significant advancement of the conventional PHS technology,” says Arbo Reino, an energy expert of the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency.

"The global need for long-duration energy storage (LDES) capacity is undeniable. 85–120 TWh-hours of LDES is needed globally by 2040 (McKinsey, 2021), so the interest in our technology and project is high, especially in regions where the traditional PHS was impossible to implement due to geographical limitation," explains? Siitam.

Zero Terrain is jointly owned by the Estonian energy company AS Alexela, Baltic-Polish renewable energy company Sunly AS, Vool OÜ, Combiwood Grupp OÜ, Warmeston OÜ, and Ronnivara OÜ.