EDF and Duracell Energy launch home battery trial for local flexibility markets
- Three-month trial will enable around 50 residential battery systems to participate in local flexibility markets across England.
- Customers will be rewarded for helping support local electricity networks through coordinated battery operation.
- The project will help test how distributed battery storage can support the energy transition while creating new revenue opportunities for customers.
Today, EDF and Puredrive Energy, the authorised licensee and manufacturer of Duracell Energy home battery storage products, have announced a three-month trial that will explore how residential battery systems can support local electricity networks, helping to accelerate the UK's transition to a cleaner, more decentralised energy system.
Running from June to August 2026, the trial will coordinate around 50 residential Duracell Energy battery systems across England, enabling them to participate in local flexibility markets, where battery owners can be rewarded for helping support local electricity networks, and respond to signals from Distribution System Operators (DSOs).
Recent periods of price uncertainty and network constraints have highlighted the need for a more flexible and resilient energy system, capable of balancing supply and demand in real time.
As renewable generation continues to grow and technologies such as electric vehicles, heat pumps and battery storage become more widely adopted, demand-side services are playing an increasingly important role in maintaining a reliable and efficient electricity system. According to the National Infrastructure Commission, greater use of these services could reduce the investment required in electricity distribution networks by around 15%, delivering savings of up to £7.9 billion by 2050.
Under the trial, EDF will manage participation in local energy markets, drawing on its expertise in tender selection, dispatch strategy and market operations, while Puredrive Energy will be responsible for customer recruitment, onboarding and participation throughout the programme.
The project builds on Duracell Energy's existing battery optimisation offering and will support the development of a future Grid Services proposition, allowing customers to unlock additional revenue from their home battery systems by supporting local networks in exchange for rewards. By coordinating a network of distributed batteries, the trial will test how smaller assets can collectively deliver valuable services to electricity networks while creating an additional revenue opportunity for customers.
Mark Millar, CEO of Puredrive Energy, an authorised Duracell licensee said: "For decades, people have thought of the grid as something that delivers power to homes. We see a future where homes actively support the grid via their home storage systems. This trial is about proving that Duracell Energy battery owners can play a meaningful role in strengthening local networks while being rewarded for the value they provide."
John Grant-Arrowsmith, Senior Manager of Flex Partnerships at EDF Business & Wholesale Services, added: "The energy transition isn't just about building more renewable generation. It's about using the energy system more intelligently. Distributed batteries have huge potential to provide support where it's needed most, and this trial will help demonstrate how that value can be unlocked at scale."
The trial marks an important step towards bringing these services into the mainstream, helping unlock the full value of distributed battery storage for customers, networks and the wider energy system.
About EDF
EDF is driving the transition towards An Electric Britain – a secure, affordable, low-carbon future for everyone. As Britain’s biggest generator of zero carbon electricity, we are investing more than £100 million weekly in Britain’s electricity infrastructure. We supply millions of customers with electricity and help homes and businesses switch to electricity for heating, transport and industrial processes.
We operate five nuclear power stations and more than 35 onshore wind farms and three offshore wind farms. Since 2009, EDF has invested almost £9 billion in the nuclear fleet to improve reliability and extend station lifetimes. The five generating stations currently supply about 12% of the UK’s electricity demand.
EDF is building the UK's nuclear renaissance with the construction of a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point C. We are a minority investor (12.5%) in and major supplier to a replica plant at Sizewell C in Suffolk. Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C will provide low carbon electricity to meet 14% of UK demand and power around 12 million homes. EDF Group companies Framatome and Arabelle Solutions have a presence in the UK and manufacture critical equipment such as reactor pressure vessels and turbines.
EDF is enabling its 5 million customers, both in business and at home, to choose electric solutions that save cash and carbon, whether it is buying an electric car, generating and storing electricity, selling energy back to the grid or installing solar panels or a heat pump. In 2025, EDF’s Customers business was ranked as one of the Sunday Times’s Best Place to Work.
It is also one of the UK’s leading developers of renewable energy through EDF power solutions UK and Ireland. We have more than 2GW of renewable generation in operation and over 10GW in construction, planning and development across a range of technologies including onshore and offshore wind, solar and battery storage.
We are one of the largest suppliers to British business and a leading supplier of innovative energy solutions that are helping businesses become more energy independent. In addition, the company’s energy services business, Dalkia, is one of the UK and Ireland’s largest technical service providers.
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