Gresham House Energy Storage Fund (GRID) shares have risen nearly 4% after the £415m battery fund announced it would start construction on its biggest project yet.

The company has agreed to buy a 100MW battery energy storage system in Elland in West Yorkshire next to an operational project it already has there.

Elland 2 is being designed to a two-hour duration that can be extended at later date. It is the first in a pipeline of new projects GRID set out in its half-year results in September and in the three-year plan announced 12 months ago to double capacity and achieve earnings to cover a higher dividend.

The acquisition is conditional on the project receiving an acceptable “Gate 2” connection offer from the National Energy System Operator (NESO).

Gresham House fund manager Ben Guest said the new site offered efficiencies from being next to the existing stie.

He described the acquisition as a “major step” in the growth plan. “Elland 2 is an area we know well, having built the neighbouring Elland 1 project which energised in November 2024. We aim to begin construction of Elland 2 within the next few months and will be procuring long lead items in the meantime. Once finished, this project, with a capacity of 100MW/200MWh, will be larger than any other in the current operational portfolio.”

GRID shares rose 3.9%, or 2.9p, to 75.9p narrowing their 34% discount to broker Winterflood’s 110p net asset value per share. The shares have rallied nearly 63% this year but are below their 22-month peak of 80.5p in August. Launched seven years ago at 100p, GRID reached an all-time high of 179p in September 2022.