ABSAE and Volt Robotics study: up to BRL 6 billion a year from batteries

A study by ABSAE with Volt Robotics estimates BRL 3.9 billion to BRL 6 billion per year in benefits to the power system from batteries. The simulation starts from 6 GW of storage with five hours of duration to cover part of the additional power need projected for the SIN in 2028, between 4.5 GW and 6.5 GW.

The contracting path already has a calendar. The 2026 LRCAP FAQ, version 5, published by EPE on 27 August 2026, sets the storage auctions for 2 and 4 December 2026, with supply starting on 1 August 2028 and fifteen-year contracts. The product requires a minimum of 30 MW and 120 MWh.

It is this fifteen-year contract that finances the initial investment. The systemic benefit calculated by ABSAE does not enter the project's cash flow; the capacity revenue defined in the auction does. The study sizes what the system can pay; the auction defines what the investor receives.

Between the December auction and the August 2028 supply, around twenty months elapse. Those who arrive with connection and land resolved compete on price with the slowest part of the schedule already behind them.