Record Year for Europe's Battery Storage Market

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Europe experienced another record year for growth in 2024 in the battery energy systems storage (BESS) marketplace, but there was a slowdown.

Despite slower year-on-year growth last year, the market grew by 15% with 21.9 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of BESS installed in Europe, bringing the region's total battery fleet to 61.1 GWh. It was the eleventh consecutive year of record growth according to the European Market Outlook for Battery Storage from solar industry association SolarPower Europe. However, growth slowed significantly compared the preceding three years, which recorded growth levels of 84% to 145%. This downturn in the residential sector--the largest BESS segment at present--was expected, according to SolarPower Europe. Residential solar and storage formed the backbone of BESS expansion during the energy crisis of 2021-23, it noted, but "as retail energy prices declined and crisis-response incentive programmes waned, so did home solar and storage installation." That dip has been offset by strong growth in utility-scale BESS, which now accounts for 40% of the market. This year, utility-scale storage will take the lead and continue to dominate the sector going forward. Industrial Info is tracking more than 1,400 European utility-scale BESS projects worth more than US$96 billion in investment. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can click here for the reports.

In the most likely scenario for 2025, 29.7 GWh of battery storage will be installed in Europe, representing 36% annual growth. By 2029, the report anticipates a sixfold increase to nearly 120 GWh, driving total capacity to 400 GWh--with the European Union (EU) accounting for 334 GWh. SolarPower Europe believes the amount still "remains far below the levels required to meet flexibility needs in a renewable-driven energy system," claiming that figure needs to hit 780 GWh by 2030 to fully support the transition.

"If Europe has already entered the solar age, the battery storage age is just beginning," said Walburga Hemetsberger, chief executive officer of SolarPower Europe. "With solar energy mainstreaming across the continent, now is the time for European decisionmakers to put batteries at the centre of a flexible, electrified, energy system. We urge the European Commission to double-down on their efforts here and come forward with an EU Energy Storage Action Plan as part of a broader Energy System Flexibility Package. The recent electricity outage in the Iberian Peninsula is a stark reminder of why this is important."

Last year Germany, Italy, the U.K., Austria and newcomer Sweden accounted for almost 80% of the total market. In particular, Germany, Italy and the U.K. have been market leaders over the last decade. 2024 was described as "the watershed moment" for grid-scale battery buildout in Europe and going forward, large-scale deployments will only increase. 2024 was the first year that saw the share of residential deployment decline to 50%, losing 14%, while the utility-scale segment ramped up its contribution by the same amount to 40% of total annual additions in Europe. Although large-scale BESS projects are coming onstream faster, the annual growth rate was greatly hindered by project setbacks due to grid connection delays, inadequate legislation, slow permitting procedures and other major regulatory hurdles on the continent.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).