China’s Huawei and UK’s Aggreko to develop storage system project in Brazil’s Amazon

The logo of Huawei is seen at the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups at Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, France, June 12, 2025. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier 

SAO PAULO — China’s Huawei will sell batteries to British business Aggreko for a renewable energy project in Brazil’s Amazon region, in what is expected to become the country’s largest-ever energy storage system, the two companies told Reuters.

Huawei’s batteries will run alongside solar plants set up in microgrids across Brazil’s Amazonas state, in order to diversify Aggreko’s power supply in the region away from polluting thermal plants.

Aggreko’s project will cost about 850 million reais ($165.55 million) and take up to three years for full implementation, with the first plants coming online between 2027 and 2028, said Cristiano Lopes Saito, Aggreko’s director for sales to the utilities sector in Brazil.

“It’s an extremely disruptive project, the largest microgrid project currently in the Americas,” Barbara Pizzolato, off-grid director at Huawei in Brazil, told Reuters.

While the thermal plants will remain operational to guarantee supply, the project should allow for lower carbon emissions, the companies said.

They forecast that the microgrids will supply energy to communities in 24 locations in Amazonas state, including in large cities such as Tefe, home to about 75,000 people.

The project is a boost to Huawei, as the Chinese manufacturer seeks to expand operations in Brazil amid expectations of an upcoming first-ever government auction for batteries.

Brazil is just starting to adopt battery energy storage systems and has only one large-scale project of this type, by the transmission company ISA Energia on the coast of Sao Paulo state. — Reuters