A 10-Day Sprint to Global Success: How SIGEN Won in Europe?
— The Bulgaria Modular Storage Case
Ⅰ. Project background and strategic considerations
Driven by the "dual carbon" goal, the global renewable energy market is expanding rapidly, and energy storage technology, as the core support to solve the intermittent problems of new energy such as wind and solar, has been accelerating its commercialization and large-scale project construction. In Europe in particular, the energy mix transition and energy security policies have combined to drive a surge in demand for energy storage. As a member of the European Union, Bulgaria is accelerating the phase-out of traditional coal-fired power plants and increasing investment in new energy and energy storage systems, becoming an important "bridgehead" for the layout of energy storage enterprises.
Keeping up with market trends, SIGEN actively explores the Bulgarian market, and successfully landed the country's first 20MWh modular energy storage power station in June 2025, demonstrating strong technology delivery capabilities and adaptability to overseas markets, providing another successful example of China's energy storage brand "going global". Below, China Exportsemi will interpret this successful case in detail for you from multiple perspectives.
Ⅱ. Project Overview: Demonstration project for efficient deployment
The project, located in the town of Malko Tarnovo in southeastern Bulgaria, is being implemented by SIGEN in collaboration with local company Trakia MT. On June 3, 2025, the two parties jointly held the "Modular Solutions Symposium" to showcase the results of the project to energy companies and policy institutions from various European countries.
The project adopts the modular energy storage product system independently developed by SIGEN, and it only takes 12 days from the arrival of the equipment to the completion of deployment, commissioning and grid connection: the deployment of core equipment takes 10 days, and the system commissioning and grid connection start take 2 days, showing the industry's leading rapid delivery capability and becoming a landmark case of modular energy storage in Bulgaria and even Europe.
Figure: SIGEN Bulgaria modular energy storage project landed
Ⅲ. Analysis of technology and product advantages
1. Efficient deployment and O&M: Save manpower and time costs
The SIGEN energy storage system adopts a modular stacking structure and a floating terminal connection method, which does not require heavy lifting equipment, and can be deployed by a team of only 5 people. On the day of grid connection, the 20MWh capacity was completed in 20 minutes, achieving rapid response and very low manpower investment, greatly reducing the project cycle and installation risk.
The system also has IP66-level protection and remote cloud platform operation and maintenance functions to achieve "unattended" and "second-level alarm". In the event of a single point of failure, only the module needs to be replaced, and the operation can be resumed within 2 hours, avoiding the shutdown of the whole machine for more than 10 hours in the traditional solution.
2. Multiple safety protection: Designed for the strict standards of the European Union
In terms of safety, the system is equipped with a six-layer safety protection mechanism, which has the ability of "second-level response" for thermal runaway of the cell. Each 12kWh unit is equipped with an independent fire protection module, which effectively blocks the risk of contagion and meets the high European standards for energy storage safety. This solution was first applied in the Bulgarian power system and became a highly praised demonstration project by the local government and the grid company.
3. Stable operation and scalability: Meet cutting-edge scenarios such as VPP
The Cisco system supports a full network communication architecture, and still maintains a high system consistency and stability in multi-system parallel connection and dynamic load scenarios. This feature was highly praised by Qurrent, a Swedish virtual power plant operator. Fredric Anderberg, Chief Commercial Officer, noted that the SIGEN solution represents a high level of commercial energy storage systems that support the full range of technical requirements for real-time, stability and ease of maintenance for its virtual power plant platform.
Ⅳ. The synergy between brand and internationalization
In just three years, SIGEN has established strategic relationships with nearly 100 global partners in more than 60 countries, and its energy storage solutions have landed in core markets such as Ireland, Belgium, Australia, Sweden, and South Africa. The successful delivery of this Bulgarian project further validates its global competitiveness in terms of technology, delivery and brand impact.
The partnership with Trakia MT also demonstrates the importance that SIGEN places on localization. As a leading local energy engineering company in Bulgaria, Trakia MT's channel resources, technical services and policy synergy capabilities provide a strong guarantee for the promotion of the project, and also lay the foundation for SIGEN's deep cultivation in Eastern Europe.
Ⅴ. Market strategy and promotion path
1. Precise positioning and adaptation to local conditions
Sig has clearly targeted the target market as countries and regions with "high penetration rate of new energy, insufficient grid flexibility, and clear policy subsidies". Bulgaria is at the intersection of this characteristic, especially when it is currently facing a significant increase in new energy output and a sharp increase in the pressure of frequency regulation on the power grid, and the modular energy storage system just matches the core needs of its power system "fast, flexible and stable".
2. Technical communication and brand output go hand in hand
The "Modular Solution Exchange Meeting" is not only a display of project achievements, but also an in-depth industry dialogue. Through on-site demonstrations, expert discussions, customer case sharing and other diversified forms, SIGEN has successfully attracted the attention of many energy companies from Germany, Austria, Romania and other neighboring countries. By building a dual channel of technical trust and brand recognition, it will lay a solid foundation for follow-up order conversion and regional cooperation.
Ⅵ. Project effectiveness and strategic significance
1. Modernize Bulgaria's power grid
According to Dimitar Zarchev, director of the Bulgarian National Grid Dispatching Center, the proportion of renewable energy in Bulgaria is expected to increase from 21% to 40% in the next five years, and the corresponding problem of grid instability will be significantly exacerbated. The fast response, flexible deployment and high safety of the modular energy storage system have become the key support to ensure the reliable operation of the power grid. The successful implementation of the SIGEN project not only achieved local energy consumption, but also promoted the transformation of Bulgaria's power system from "static transmission and distribution" to "dynamic coordination".
2. Consolidate the foundation of the company's global layout
The Bulgarian project not only strengthens SIGEN's brand reputation in Europe, but also provides a paradigm for its expansion into the Central and Eastern Europe, Balkans and Southern European markets. Through the actual verification of technical products and the accumulation of reputation for project delivery, SIGEN is expected to gain more trust and orders in high value-added markets such as VPP platforms, industrial parks, and data centers.
At the same time, the project also provides iterative feedback for the SIGEN modular product system - adaptability testing under different climates, policies, and grid-connected standards will promote product design to be closer to global use scenarios.
Ⅶ. Risks, challenges and coping strategies
1. Fierce competition in the market
As traditional energy giants in Europe and the United States and emerging energy storage companies in China have entered the international market, Sig is facing multiple challenges in technology, price and brand. In the future, we should continue to increase R&D investment, strengthen the advantages of core battery management system (BMS) and system-level AI scheduling optimization, and reduce costs through large-scale manufacturing and global supply chain optimization to improve cost-effective advantages.
2. Increased compliance and policy complexity
There are significant differences in grid connection specifications, fire protection standards, and subsidy policies among different European countries. SIGEN needs to set up a professional compliance department, with the help of third-party certification bodies, local law firms and policy consultant teams to build a rapid response system, avoid cross-border legal and engineering risks, and improve compliance and project delivery controllability.
3. Localized operation and service capabilities still need to be strengthened
At present, the localization team of SIGEN in Bulgaria is still mainly project-based, and in the future, it is necessary to gradually improve the permanent service outlets, warehousing and logistics system and local after-sales network. Through the integration of talent localization and business culture, we will establish a sustainable operation model to enhance customer stickiness and brand reputation.
Ⅷ. Summary and outlook
The Bulgarian project is another important milestone for Chinese enterprises to enter Europe with modular energy storage technology. The project not only demonstrates its technological leadership in modular design, efficient deployment, safety and reliability, but also demonstrates its maturity in responding accurately to the local market and its ability to cooperate internationally.
Looking forward to the future, on the basis of consolidating the existing market, SIGEN will further expand Germany, Italy, Greece and other countries with great potential for energy storage development, and promote modular energy storage products to take root in more application scenarios around the world. Its role in energy digitalization and flexible grid construction will also continue to increase, and it will become an important driving force in the process of global energy transition.
