Custom Structural Platforms for BESS
Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) require more than just stable foundations — they require integrated support systems capable of bearing significant static loads, accommodating modular layouts, and ensuring safe, secure installation across varied site conditions.
Engineered steel base systems to support containerised infrastructure
RADIX designs, fabricates and installs custom steel base platforms for BESS sites, built to support battery enclosures, Power Conversion Systems (PCS), Switch Rooms, MV Skids and transformers. These structural platforms are fully integrated with our screw pile foundation systems and tailored to the exact equipment footprints used on site, including CATL, BYD, Sungrow, SMA and Canadian Solar systems to name a few.
This page explores the function, technical performance and design approach behind RADIX’s steel base systems, a core part of our turnkey delivery model for utility-scale BESS infrastructure.
Why structural platforms are essential
In many BESS projects, concrete pads or in-situ platforms are used to mount heavy equipment. However, these traditional methods introduce limitations:
- Long programme durations due to curing and formwork
- Complex groundwork and excavation
- High embodied carbon
- Difficulties with alignment, access, or retrofit requirements
RADIX structural platforms, also referred to as grillage or steel base systems, address these challenges directly. Fabricated in-house, they allow fast and accurate placement of equipment with no wet trades, minimal ground disturbance, and full integration with screw pile foundations.
Technical configuration
RADIX platforms are fabricated from structural steel sections and assembled to match the exact footprint of each piece of site equipment. Common configurations include:
- 20ft and 40ft battery containers (CATL, SolBank, HiTHIUM)
- PCS skids (BYD, Kehua, Sungrow)
- MV Skids, Inverters and Control Rooms
- Transformers and auxiliary systems
All base systems are manufactured under EN ISO 9001:2015 and galvanised to BS EN ISO 1461:2009 for long-term corrosion resistance. The platforms are supported on RADIX screw piles, designed to transfer static, dynamic and uplift loads safely into the ground.
Where required, bases are elevated to allow ventilation, flood protection, cable entry and maintenance access.
Integrated with RADIX foundations
What sets RADIX steel platforms apart is the seamless integration with the screw pile layout. Because both systems are designed and installed by the same in-house team, risks of misalignment, tolerance issues or incompatible specifications are removed.
Every platform is pre-engineered alongside the foundation design, using site survey data, manufacturer equipment drawings and load information to determine pile spacing, structural frame design, fixing points and elevations.
This integrated model means that:
- Equipment can be landed immediately after installation
- No retrofit or adjustments are required
- QA and structural records are unified
- Programme time is reduced, and site risk is minimised
Benefits for BESS developers
RADIX grillage systems provide multiple project-level advantages:
- Speed: Platforms are pre-fabricated and installed within hours of pile installation. There is no curing time or formwork.
- Precision: Engineered to exact dimensions and flatness tolerances for safe equipment mounting.
- Flexibility: Adjustable for slope, floodplain or brownfield conditions.
- Sustainability: Lower embodied carbon than concrete pads; reusable and recyclable.
- Documentation: Full QA, load data and permit-to-load documentation provided as standard.
These benefits have been demonstrated across RADIX deployments in the UK, EU and Australia with BESS platform installations ranging from 10’s to – 100’s per project.
Case Study Examples
500MW Supernode BESS, Brisbane, Australia
Consultancy, design, supply and delivery of screw pile foundations, steel sub-frames and equipment to facilitate the installation of deep pile foundations, supporting Battery Containers, PCS Units, MV Skids and Control Rooms
Designed for delivery
Every RADIX steel platform is fabricated to spec and delivered in sequence to support project phasing. We co-ordinate design, logistics, and install internally to reduce interface risk and keep site operations moving.
Whether required across the full site or for targeted areas (e.g. MV infrastructure only), RADIX structural platforms provide fast, secure and certifiable solutions that meet the high loads and layout demands of modern BESS projects.
For platform design support or to request sample technical drawings, contact the RADIX engineering team today.