Axpo and Spectral launch Poland’s first utility-scale battery storage on the STELLAR VPP platform

27.03.26 - Axpo is accelerating the development of its Virtual Power Plant (VPP) in Poland. Together with energy-technology company Spectral, Axpo has integrated the country’s first operational, utility-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) 24 MW/56 MWh in Nowe Czarnowo. The two companies have been working together since 2022, with projects delivered across the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Austria and now Poland. Further renewable and storage projects are in preparation.

Poland’s power system is changing rapidly. With an ambition to double the share of renewables to around 56% by 2030, the market requires controllable assets and digital infrastructure capable of delivering balancing services to PSE, the Polish transmission system operator. Axpo is addressing this need by developing a portfolio of battery and generation assets operated within a single VPP, participating in energy and ancillary service markets.

STELLAR as the backbone of Axpo’s VPP operations

In its Polish projects, Axpo deploys Spectral’s STELLAR as the central operational system for its VPP. The solution delivers:

• Real-time asset monitoring and data acquisition
• Active control via setpoints and schedules
• Direct LFC integration with PSE
• Execution of balancing services
• 24/7 operational support

This enables Axpo to manage generation and battery assets as controllable resources within a single portfolio.

Poland’s first BESS in Axpo’s portfolio

The Nowe Czarnowo battery system (24 MW / 56 MWh), developed by Energix Group, is fully integrated into Axpo’s STELLAR-powered VPP. A component of this system is the battery energy management module, which enables dispatch of the asset in energy and ancillary service markets, combining wholesale trading with the delivery of balancing reserves to PSE. This is a significant milestone in building Axpo’s growing Polish VPP portfolio.

Expanding pipeline of wind and storage assets

Axpo is actively broadening its portfolio with additional wind farms and storage systems. The wind farms are being integrated as individually controllable scheduling units. Once qualified for the balancing market, they will provide ancillary services to PSE via direct LFC integration, becoming actively managed balancing assets.

Axpo Polska Balancing Manager Kacper Rzeńca said: “Poland is a strategic growth market for Axpo in the renewables space, including the rapidly expanding flexibility sector. We are building a scalable virtual power plant that combines the flexibility of energy storage and generation resources. The platform from Spectral provides us with full operational control, data visibility, and mission-critical TSO integrations which are essential for the safe, optimal management of our diversified flexibility portfolio, including the provision of balancing services for PSE.”

Spectral’s founder and Chief Growth Officer Philip Gladek said: “STELLAR is a vertically integrated VPP platform that enables multi-market, multi-asset optimisation around the clock. In partnership with Axpo, we are turning these capabilities into measurable value: greater flexibility, higher asset revenues and secure system integration. This is a milestone for the Polish market, from integrating the first utility-scale BESS to building a scalable VPP infrastructure ready for the rapid growth of batteries and renewables.”

The commissioning and integration of Poland’s first utility-scale BESS, together with the development of an OZE portfolio, demonstrate Axpo’s capability to deliver the infrastructure and competencies required for VPP operations in a demanding balancing environment. This provides a scalable foundation for further growth in Poland’s fast‑developing renewables and batteries market, strengthening security of supply and system stability.