New home for big battery company

The energy park is aimed at the renewables industry

A company hoping to create massive batteries which would be able to store enough electricity to power a small village is moving to Levenmouth.

Plurion has been carrying out research into its storage system at its small laboratories in Glenrothes, Fife.

A deal has been agreed which will see the firm move to the Methil Energy Park to begin manufacturing the batteries, which are the size of a 40ft container.

The energy park is aimed at companies working in the renewables industry.

It already houses Ocean Power Delivery, which specialises in wave power, and BiFab, which works in fabrication for wind turbines.

These batteries would have the capacity to power a small village Mike Woodroffe Plurion chairman

Plurion is hoping to take up premises in late spring and will initially employ a handful of people.

However, the company said it could soon be providing hundreds of jobs if research and development continued to go well.

Chairman Mike Woodroffe said: "These batteries would have the capacity to power a small village.

"Storage is going to be very effective. We have a system that works.

"We believe this will provide a significant boost to the local economy."

The 134-acre energy park is on the site of a former oil fabrication works in Methil and is managed by Scottish Enterprise.

Spokesman Willie Johnstone said: "Their technical requirements were pretty stringent, so the fact they have committed to this site is a mark of how well the energy park is perceived to be meeting the needs of today's growing renewable energy sector."