Croatian energy startup IE-Energy gets a €19.8M grant from the EU Commission

The Rijeka-based energy company IE-Energy has raised €19.8 million aid package from The European Commission for building the first battery system near Šibenik. 

• Founded in 2020, by Zeljko Smitran, IE-Energy develops the first regional Virtual Power Plant as an aggregated network of decentralized power generating units, such as wind farms, solar parks, and combined heat and power units, as well as flexible power consumers and storage systems. 
• The €19.8 million grant from the European Commission will cover approximately 30% of the costs for the series of battery systems planned for construction around the city of Šibenik with a capacity of 100 MWh and 50 MW of power. The full capacity will be upgraded by 2024, and the total investment will amount to around €70 million. 
• As the EU Commission representatives emphasizes, the IE-Energy project is important because it will contribute to the modernization of the grid and increase the security of energy supply, for both Croatia and the EU.