BP is preparing to take its first steps towards the battery power boom by building a new project to store wind power using Tesla technology later this year.

The oil super major will team up with the world’s largest battery storage company to build a pilot project alongside its Titan wind project in the US state of South Dakota.

The 25MW wind farm, which is relatively small by British standards, will top up the stored electricity in a Tesla battery with an energy capacity of 840 kilowatt hours capable of producing 212 kilowatts of power.

The project is expected to launch in the second half of 2018 to help make BP’s growing US wind power portfolio more reliable.

BP has over 13 wind farms in the US with a total capacity of around 2.26GW, making it one of the largest renewable energy businesses of any major oil and gas group.

The group has also made in-roads back into solar power after turning its back on the market in 2011 by buying a $200m (£141m) stake in UK solar developer Lightsource.

Lighthouse BP will sit within its Alternative Energy business alongside investments in wind energy, biofuels and biopower as part of BP’s shift towards lower carbon energy.