The European Commission has signed the EU’s first “tripartite agreement” on energy storage with energy ministers, industry and financial institutions, with 22 member states pledging between 30 and 35 gigawatts (GW) of storage capacity over the next two years.
The signing took place on the sidelines of a meeting of EU energy ministers in Luxembourg on Friday, the European Commission announced.
Energy storage refers to technologies that save electricity for later use — such as batteries or pumped hydro — which can help balance supply and demand when wind or solar output changes.
Under the agreement, energy storage and renewable project developers will provide annual estimates of new storage and “hybrid” projects and their volumes, while energy-intensive industries committed to developing storage at their own sites and sharing clearer information about when and how much electricity they use.
Member states signed up to remove barriers slowing storage projects and to enable national regulators to set or approve “cost-reflective and non-discriminatory” network tariffs designed to support flexibility on the power grid.
Funding and longer-term tracking
Member states also committed to provide financial support for storage roll-out and manufacturing where needed, using national and EU funding and in line with state aid rules, including the Clean Industrial State Aid Framework, the Commission said.
Financial institutions, including national and regional banks, will share expertise to improve how storage projects are assessed and work with the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group and each other to increase the impact of funding.
The Commission said it will coordinate delivery of the agreement and track progress annually until 2028, and will support exchanges between signatories through existing forums including the Energy Union Task Force.
The EU is estimated to need around 200 GW of storage capacity by 2030, compared with about 55 GW installed at the beginning of this year.
“Energy storage is the missing link in the clean energy transition,” Energy and Housing Commissioner Dan Jørgensen said.
