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An aerial view of the ongoing construction work on the world’s largest redox-flow battery storage system in Laufenburg, canton Aargau. <\/p>\n
FlexBase <\/p>\n
A Swiss firm is constructing what it claims is the world\u2019s most powerful redox\u2011flow battery, designed to store vast amounts of renewable energy and help stabilise both the Swiss and European power grids.\n<\/p>\n
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April 7, 2026 – 10:36\n<\/p>\n
The FlexBase groupExternal link<\/a> is currently excavating a 27-metre-deep pit \u2013 longer than two football pitches \u2013 in Laufenburg, canton Aargau, to house the underground battery installation.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will be able to inject or absorb up to 1.2 gigawatts (GW) of electricity in a few milliseconds, equivalent to the power of the Leibstadt nuclear power plant [also in canton Aargau near the German border],\u201d co-founder Marcel Aumer told Swiss public broadcaster RTS.<\/p>\n The mammoth battery storage system is part of a future Laufenburg Technology CentreExternal link<\/a>, a 20,000m\u00b2 complex including an AI data centre, offices and laboratories.<\/p>\n A computer-generated image of the planned Laufenburg Technology Centre. <\/p>\n FlexBase <\/p>\n FlexBase plans to put its giant battery into operation in 2029 and hopes to generate around 300 jobs. Privately financed, the project carries a price tag ranging from CHF1-5 billion ($1.2-6.2 billion).<\/p>\n >>>Watch this short video about the Laufenburg redox flow battery project.<\/p>\n How redox-flow batteries work<\/p>\n Unlike lithium\u2011ion batteries, which store energy in solid electrodes, redox\u2011flow batteries use liquid electrolytes. <\/p>\n Giant tanks hold the liquid electrolytes, while stacks of cells above them convert the stored chemical energy into electricity.<\/p>\n The system is recharged using surplus renewable electricity \u2013 mainly solar and wind \u2013 which feeds energy back into the grid during peak demand.<\/p>\n Vital component of future grid<\/p>\n Swissgrid, operator of the national high\u2011voltage network, plans to connect to the Laufenburg site \u2013 marking a first for Switzerland.<\/p>\n Swissgrid believes large batteries like these will become a key component of Switzerland\u2019s future grid network. <\/p>\n \u201cLarge batteries can store energy when there is a lot of it and release it when it is needed. So in the future, with wind production that will fluctuate according to the weather, having this flexibility can help stabilise the grid,\u201d explained Gabriele Crivelli, a Swissgrid spokesperson. <\/p>\n \n More<\/p>\n More <\/p>\n Climate adaptation\n <\/p>\n Switzerland sees battery boom as homes and firms store more solar power <\/p>\n This content was published on <\/p>\n Mar 25, 2026 <\/p>\n A rapid but mostly invisible energy transformation is taking place in Switzerland: households and businesses are installing batteries at record pace, rising roughly 400% over the past four years. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Read more: Switzerland sees battery boom as homes and firms store more solar power Such installations can also reduce the risk of power outages and help meet soaring electricity demand from data centres powered by artificial intelligence (AI). <\/p>\n While redox\u2011flow technology is still emerging in Europe, it is already well established in other regions.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Asian market, with Japan in the lead, has developed this technology considerably. Today, Japan, China and South Korea are about seven years ahead of us Europeans,\u201d said Marcel Aumer.<\/p>\n Swiss researcher casts doubt over redox-flow technology <\/p>\n Tobias Schmidt, a professor of energy and technology policy at the federal technology institute ETH Zurich, carried out a studyExternal link<\/a> in 2020 analysing the battery technologies likely to prevail worldwide in the future. He believes that redox\u2011flow technology, as planned in Laufenberg, \u201chas no chance\u201d. \u201cI don\u2019t know the exact figures for Laufenburg. But I\u2019m surprised. I wouldn\u2019t invest in this technology,\u201d he told Swiss public broadcaster SRFExternal link<\/a> last year.<\/p>\n Schmidt believes the future lies with metal-ion batteries, such as \u201clithium-ion\u201d. \u201cThe huge market for lithium-ion batteries is electric vehicles. There is a lot of investment in this area, especially in China, and the batteries are rapidly becoming better and cheaper. The learning curve for this technology is enormous,\u201d he told SRF. \u00a0<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/I57_01.jpg\")
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