BNDES Approves R$280 Million for WEG to Build Brazil's Largest Battery Storage Factory

Overview

• The financing was approved under the BNDES Mais Inovação program via a strategic‑minerals call, with the loan still pending formal contracting.
• WEG will build the plant in Itajaí, Santa Catarina, with work starting soon and completion planned for the second half of 2027, creating about 90 jobs.
• The facility is slated to lift WEG’s BESS output to up to 2 GWh per year, roughly equivalent to 400 systems of 5 MWh.
• Plans call for high automation with autonomous mobile robots, a testing and development laboratory with a substation to simulate real operating conditions, and adoption of cell‑to‑pack battery architecture.
• The government’s public consultation on a Reserve Capacity auction for storage runs through February 11, as BESS gains traction to cut renewable curtailment and reduce reliance on costly thermal peakers.