TotalEnergies will invest more than 75 million euros ($81 million) in a battery storage project in Germany, the French oil major said on Wednesday, as it builds up an integrated electricity business in Europe's largest power market.

The 100 megawatt (MW)/200 megawatt-hour (MWh) project in Dahlem, North Rhine-Westphalia, will start commercial operations in the second half of 2026, TotalEnergies said, making its final investment decision (FID) in the project.

Total, which makes most of its money from producing and selling oil and refined products, is seeking to grow its natural gas and integrated electricity business, with a target of producing at least 100 terawatt-hours of renewable power by 2030.

Three of the French company's German subsidiaries are involved in the project: battery maker Saft, renewable power aggregator Quadra Energy, acquired last year, and battery system developer Kyon Energy, bought in February.

Saft will supply the batteries, Kyon Energy will manage development, and Quadra Energy will market the new capacity, according to a statement.

Total also has contracts to install and operate electric vehicle battery charging points in Germany and recently won wind farm leases to develop 4.5 gigawatts of renewable power in the country.

Germany is expanding renewable power as it seeks to stop burning coal for energy in 2030, betting instead on a combination of green electricity and natural gas for a transition period.

Since closing its last nuclear plant last year, Germany lacks a stable, carbon-free supply of electricity to back up intermittent renewables.

Batteries could help to bridge the gap by storing and releasing power as needed.

"All our recent investments in Germany demonstrate our strong commitment to contribute to the decarbonization of the country's electricity and industry," Stéphane Michel, TotalEnergies' senior vice president for Gas, Renewables & Power at TotalEnergies, said in a statement.

($1 = 0.9230 euros)

(Additional reporting by Federica Mileo in Gdansk and Vera Eckert in Frankfurt; Editing by Mark Potter)