Montea opens first energy hub in Willebroek in presence of Flemish Prime Minister Diependaele 

Today Montea officially opened its first energy hub in Willebroek, a pioneering project that marks an important step in the logistics real estate player's sustainability strategy. Prime Minister Matthias Diependaele was present to inaugurate the project and underline the importance of the large-scale project. 

Flemish energy objectives 

This project fits seamlessly into the energy objectives of the new Flemish Government agreement to continue to guarantee the acceleration of electrification through smart grid management. With this project, Montea demonstrates that the logistics sector can play a pioneering role in this. 

"Flanders is a top logistics region and to strengthen that position, we need to invest in strategic infrastructure. In our Flemish coalition agreement, we opt for strategic autonomy and smart energy infrastructure as building blocks for economic resilience in geopolitically turbulent times. This battery park fits completely within the vision that we have put forward with this Flemish government. Montea proves that innovation and competitiveness go together perfectly and that companies can play a pioneering role in this themselves." 
- Matthias Diependaele, Flemish Minister-President 

This innovative battery park in Willebroek has a total storage capacity of 15.05 MWh. It enables Montea to store solar energy and deploy it at exactly the right time when demand is highest. 

But we are going beyond this site: the implementation of the first phase where we are installing 32 MWh of energy storage across 13 sites in Flanders is well underway. This will result in an energy storage capacity of more than 100 MWh spread across the various countries in which Montea operates by the end of 2027. To achieve this, Montea will invest €50 million. 

Solving customers' energy challenge

Our motivation is to support our customers in the energy challenge: often there is a shortage of available capacity or peak demand does not coincide with solar production. This creates a surplus at low demand and a shortage at high demand. 

"With this investment, we are taking pioneering steps to future-proof our sites and help our customers with their energy transition. We are not only building for today, but more importantly for future generations," says CEO of Montea Jo De Wolf. "Here in Willebroek, this means concretely that we light our buildings with solar energy, heat our warehouses with heat pumps, and charge both electric cars and e-trucks - such as that of our customer Dachser - with our own solar energy." 

Part of Track27 objectives. 

The opening of the energy hub fits within Montea's Track27 strategic sustainability plan. This plan aims to reduce the company's carbon emissions by 45% by the end of 2027. By focusing on battery storage and smart energy solutions, Montea is helping its customers with the energy transition and contributing to a more sustainable and efficient logistics sector. 

Emission-free transportation 

The energy hubs are on the site leased by logistics service provider Dachser. They will use the stored energy to take the first steps toward zero-emission transport in Belgium. After the summer, Dascher will install the first fast charger of 180 kW to use it to charge its electric trucks. Worldwide, Dachser is already using 100 fully electric trucks. These are now driving in major European cities, but this year they also want to use them for their transport from Willebroek to Brussels, Antwerp and Mechelen. 

"Rome was not built in a day. The logistics sector is already making great strides towards completely emission-free transport, and we want to take a pioneering role in this as well. Our goal is therefore to install the first fast charger here after the summer in order to use it to charge our electric trucks. We have already installed the pipes for this underground. On an annual basis we can save € 16,000 in electricity costs and it is also green electricity.. 
– Tom Verheyen, Country Manager Belgium Dachser 

Collaboration as the key to success 

The realization of this project is possible thanks to close cooperation with clients, the Flemish government and partners such as Arcade and iwell. 

At Willebroek, iwell provides the energy storage systems. The system stores excess solar energy in the hub when it is not being used directly. The Energy Management System cleverly manages these reserves: when energy demand increases, the stored power is released, or when market prices are favorable, the surplus can be delivered back to the grid. 

"It is inspiring to work with a partner like Montea who shares our vision: to support companies in their transition to net zero and help enable the acceleration of electrification." says Céline De Keersmaeker, Country Director Belgium at iwell. "Combining our battery solutions with the advanced Energy Management System (EMS) ensures that renewable energy is efficiently stored and intelligently deployed. This allows companies to maximize their own energy, help mitigate grid congestion and reduce their dependence on fossil energy."