Toyota Tsusho Corporation has secured a contract to build a 50 MW/160 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) supporting three solar power facilities in Pobè, Benin, the Japanese trading house announced.

The storage asset will backstop TTC, Deffisol and Forsun solar plants, each with a 25 MW capacity that totals 75 MW of combined photovoltaic output. Eiffage RMT, a German engineering enterprise named as the EPC contractor for the battery works, will deliver construction services alongside Toyota Tsusho. The romanised spelling of the contractor’s name has not been cross-verified and may correspond to an Eiffage subsidiary or associated entity.

Valued at €48.6 million (equivalent to USD 55.4 million), the entire battery project is scheduled to finish 15 months following the contract’s effective date, targeting commercial completion around September 2027.

This marks Toyota Tsusho’s second major renewable energy scheme in Benin’s Pobè zone. The firm landed a 25 MW solar plant contract in the region back in 2023 with the same EPC partner, and that standalone solar facility entered commercial operation in March 2026.

Toyota Tsusho highlighted critical power sector challenges facing Benin: the nation’s electrification rate hovers around 40%, and local electricity demand is largely met via imported power and thermal generation. The newly awarded battery storage system is designed to smooth volatile solar power generation and boost overall grid stability for the three-site Pobè solar cluster.