---
title: "Fluence Energy lands Vattenfall's 254 MW battery order as UBS halves its target to $6"
description: "The Swedish utility Vattenfall has taken the final investment decision on the 254 MW Brunsbüttel battery, its biggest yet, but Fluence's own guidance already carries a $200 million loss from US factory delays, and UBS reckons the bill runs $190 million deeper."
publisher: "The Inference"
section: "Power"
published: 2026-11-02T14:14:19.904Z
modified: 2026-11-02T14:14:19.904Z
canonical: https://theinference.org/article/fluence-energy-lands-vattenfall-s-254-mw-battery-order-as-ubs-halves-its-target-to-6
language: en
keywords: "Fluence Energy, Energy Storage, Analyst Calls, Batteries"
---

# Fluence Energy lands Vattenfall's 254 MW battery order as UBS halves its target to $6

> The Swedish utility Vattenfall has taken the final investment decision on the 254 MW Brunsbüttel battery, its biggest yet, but Fluence's own guidance already carries a $200 million loss from US factory delays, and UBS reckons the bill runs $190 million deeper.

[Fluence Energy](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/fluence-energy) (Nasdaq: FLNC) ended last week with both halves of its story landing together. On Thursday the Swedish utility Vattenfall took the final investment decision on the Brunsbüttel battery in northern Germany: 254 megawatts of power, 1,070 megawatt-hours of storage, Fluence as supplier, running by the end of 2028 [2][3]. The Monday before, UBS had [halved its price target on the grid-battery integrator to $6 from $12](https://www.ad-hoc-news.de/boerse/news/unternehmensnachrichten/fluence-energy-s-houston-ramp-up-stumble-prompts-ubs-to-halve-its-target-and-trim-2027-28-too/70420621), on the cost of delayed American production [1][5].

## The order is real, and so is the hole

[The October 14 award is Vattenfall's largest battery project to date](https://markets.financialcontent.com/prnews.pressre/article/gnwcq-2026-10-14-vattenfall-awards-1-gwh-brunsbttel-battery-storage-project-to-fluence) and will nearly double its storage fleet [7]. Fluence delivers it turnkey, engineering through long-term service, on the site of a nuclear plant being decommissioned [7]. The money question sits elsewhere. On September 16, Fluence [cut guidance for fiscal 2026](https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/fluence-energy-announces-revised-guidance-fiscal-year-2026-management-host-conference), the year ended September 30, to about $2.4 billion of revenue and a $200 million adjusted-EBITDA loss, blaming the slow ramp of its Houston contract plant [4]. In November 2025 the same guidance carried a $50 million profit at its midpoint [6][9].

*Chart: **Fluence's own FY2026 EBITDA guide fell from a $50M profit to a $200M loss** Column chart of Fluence's fiscal 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance: a $50 million midpoint in November 2025, a $10 million loss midpoint in August 2026, and a $200 million loss on September 16, 2026, each shown with its guided range.*

*Company-disclosed adjusted EBITDA guidance for fiscal 2026 (October 2025 to September 2026); ranges drawn where Fluence guided a range. Sources: Fluence guidance release, September 16, 2026; Levi & Korsinsky, October 21, 2026; StockTwits via Yahoo Finance, September 16, 2026. [4][6][9]*

About $400 million of projects slid into fiscal 2027, and the June quarter's adjusted gross margin fell to 5.9% from 15.4%, even as backlog climbed to a record $6.4 billion from $5.3 billion [6][9]. Backlog becomes revenue only when projects ship, and shipping is what Houston is late delivering [4].

## One target halved, three cut hard

[Citigroup went to $11 from $20 on October 21](https://theinference.org/article/citi-says-11-ubs-says-6-on-fluence-the-fault-is-in-delayed-houston-plants-not-europe) and kept its Buy; [Morgan Stanley](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/morgan-stanley) and the brokerage Susquehanna cut to $9 and $13 on the day of the award [1][8]. UBS alone priced the next leg: roughly $190 million of extra fiscal 2026 cost, with the drag running into fiscal 2027 and 2028 [5]. That figure is UBS's estimate, not a company disclosure [1]. If it lands on top of the guided loss, fiscal 2026 finishes near a $390 million hole [4][5].

*Chart: **Four banks cut their Fluence targets by 40 to 50 percent in twelve days** Range chart of Fluence price targets before and after October 2026 cuts: UBS from $12 to $6, Citigroup from $20 to $11, Morgan Stanley from $15 to $9, Susquehanna from $23 to $13.*

*Price targets before and after, October 2026. Morgan Stanley and Susquehanna moved on October 14, Citigroup on October 21, UBS on October 26. Sources: Trading-Treff; Ad Hoc News (boerse-global). [1][5][8]*

Shareholders have carried the damage: the stock fell 34.6% on February 5 to $18.95 and 15.4% on September 17 to $7.66, then lost 3.4% on the Friday after the investment decision [6][1]. The turnkey scope puts execution costs on Fluence's side of the contract [7]. No filing or analyst note in this record names a competitor collecting the late deliveries, so the cost has landed on one side: FLNC holders.

## The next filing tests the $190 million

[A securities class action](https://theinference.org/article/fluence-s-ai-power-bet-faces-a-securities-fraud-suit-after-three-guidance-breaks-and-a-73-fall) covering buyers from November 24, 2025, to September 16, 2026, alleges Fluence overstated its contract-manufacturing readiness at sites including Houston; the claims remain unproven [6]. The shareholder-rights law firm Levi & Korsinsky sets [lead-plaintiff motions for November 27](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/levi--korsinsky-reminds-fluence-energy-inc-investors-of-the-pending-class-action-lawsuit-with-a-lead-plaintiff-deadline-of-november-27-2026---flnc-302915133.html), a rival firm, Glancy Prongay Wolke & Rotter, for November 30 [6][1].

The sterner test is the fiscal 2026 report [4]. Fluence has promised a detailed fiscal 2027 business plan and financial update with those results, targeting neutral-to-positive operating cash flow without new capital, and says corrective actions at the contract manufacturer have already lifted daily output [4]. Last year's annual filing landed November 25 [4]. That plan, set against UBS's $190 million, is the line to watch [4].

## Takeaway

Vattenfall's Brunsbüttel order confirms Fluence's record $6.4 billion backlog, but the fiscal 2026 report due around November 25 is the test of UBS's $190 million estimate of the extra cost of the Houston delays.

## Sources

1. [Trading-Treff, "Fluence Energy Aktie: Vattenfall vergibt Speicherprojekt in Brunsbüttel", 2 November 2026](https://trading-treff.de/trading/fluence-energy-aktie-vattenfall-vergibt-speicherprojekt-in-brunsbuettel)
2. [Börse-Express, "Fluence Energy Aktie: Verspätete US-Fertigung wird richtig teuer", 2 November 2026](https://www.boerse-express.com/news/articles/fluence-energy-aktie-verspaetete-us-fertigung-wird-richtig-teuer-957919)
3. [IT Boltwise, "Fluence Energy: Verzögerte US-Produktion treibt Zusatzkosten und drückt Kursziel", 2 November 2026](https://www.it-boltwise.de/fluence-energy-verzoegerte-us-produktion-treibt-zusatzkosten-und-drueckt-kursziel.html)
4. [Fluence Energy press release via Nasdaq, "Fluence Energy Announces Revised Guidance for Fiscal Year 2026", 16 September 2026](https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/fluence-energy-announces-revised-guidance-fiscal-year-2026-management-host-conference)
5. [Ad Hoc News (boerse-global), "Fluence Energy's Houston Ramp-Up Stumble Prompts UBS to Halve Its Target, and Trim 2027-28 Too", 27 October 2026](https://www.ad-hoc-news.de/boerse/news/unternehmensnachrichten/fluence-energy-s-houston-ramp-up-stumble-prompts-ubs-to-halve-its-target-and-trim-2027-28-too/70420621)
6. [Levi & Korsinsky via PR Newswire, "Levi & Korsinsky Reminds Fluence Energy Investors of Pending Class Action With Lead Plaintiff Deadline of November 27, 2026", 21 October 2026](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/levi--korsinsky-reminds-fluence-energy-inc-investors-of-the-pending-class-action-lawsuit-with-a-lead-plaintiff-deadline-of-november-27-2026---flnc-302915133.html)
7. [Vattenfall and Fluence via GlobeNewswire, "Vattenfall Awards 1 GWh Brunsbüttel Battery Storage Project to Fluence", 14 October 2026](https://markets.financialcontent.com/prnews.pressre/article/gnwcq-2026-10-14-vattenfall-awards-1-gwh-brunsbttel-battery-storage-project-to-fluence)
8. [Ad Hoc News (boerse-global), "Fluence Energy's Vattenfall Order Meets a Wall Street Reset", 17 October 2026](https://www.ad-hoc-news.de/boerse/news/unternehmensnachrichten/fluence-energy-s-vattenfall-order-meets-a-wall-street-reset/70345479)
9. [StockTwits via Yahoo Finance, "FLNC Stock Tumbles After-Hours As Houston Plant Delays Force Another Guidance Cut", 16 September 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/flnc-stock-tumbles-hours-houston-211902009.html)


---

Fluence Energy lands Vattenfall's 254 MW battery order as UBS halves its target to $6 — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/fluence-energy-lands-vattenfall-s-254-mw-battery-order-as-ubs-halves-its-target-to-6