New report: European battery storage grows 15% in 2024, EU energy storage action plan needed

MUNICH, Germany (Wednesday 7th May 2025): New analysis reveals another year of record installations for European* battery storage, despite slower year-on-year growth, according to the latest European Market Outlook for Battery Storage. 

21.9 GWh of battery energy storage systems (BESS) was installed in Europe in 2024, marking the eleventh consecutive year of record breaking-installations, and bringing Europe’s total battery fleet to 61.1 GWh. However, the annual growth rate slowed down to 15% in 2024, after three consecutive years of doubling newly added capacity. 

Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of SolarPower Europe (she/her), said: “If Europe has already entered the solar age, the battery storage age is just beginning. 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.”

The BESS market in Europe is set to grow faster in the next years, although not at the levels required. In the most-likely scenario for 2025, 29.7 GWh of battery storage will be installed in Europe, representing a 36% annual growth. By 2029, the report anticipates a sixfold increase to nearly 120 GWh, driving total capacity to 400 GWh (EU-27: 334 GWh). However, this remains far below the levels required to meet flexibility needs in a renewable-driven energy system. According to our Mission Solar 2040 study, EU-27 BESS capacity must reach 780 GWh by 2030 to fully support the transition.

Alongside the market analysis, SolarPower Europe makes a number of recommendations to reach the required levels of batteries in Europe by the end of the decade:

1. The European Commission must adopt an Energy Storage Action Plan within a broader Flexibility Package, to harmonise markets, remove regulatory barriers, and ensure storage is integral to national energy strategies. 
2. Grid connection procedures and pricing frameworks must be reformed to facilitate access, prioritise hybrid systems, and fairly allocate costs. 
3. BESS must have full and fair access to electricity markets, with clear revenue streams, updated Guarantees of Origin frameworks, and permission to stack revenues. 
4. Balancing markets must become fully competitive and accessible to storage, through harmonised technical standards and transparent procurement. 
5. Europe must enhance smart metering and data communication standards to enable real-time energy management and seamless BESS integration.

Europe’s 2025 growth hinges on the large-scale utility battery projects set to come online in the course of the year. The large-scale battery segment is growing rapidly, and for the first time, is set to represent most of battery installations on the continent this year. 

Historically, home batteries have driven the European battery storage market, but 2025 will mark their drop to represent 33% of the market. As the effects of the energy crisis wane – and related support schemes – European citizens are less inclined to install batteries at home. On the other hand, commercial & industrial battery storage is set to grow slightly in 2025, as businesses tap into the energy security and cost effectiveness that solar and storage can offer. 

Markus Elsaesser, the CEO of Solar Promotion GmbH (he/him), said: “Europe’s solar success has laid the foundation – now battery storage is stepping into its pivotal role. With solar power surging across the continent, the need for flexible capacity has never been clearer, and batteries are ready to deliver. As with solar cells and modules, prices for battery storage technology have fallen rapidly over the past decade. If we apply the same focus and ambition to storage that we once did to solar, Europe can build a resilient, renewables-based energy system faster than many think. The momentum is there – now it’s time to scale.”

In 2024, the top five national markets added 78% of Europe’s new battery capacity, though there was some movement in their exact standings. Germany maintained its leading role despite a drop in residential installations and the slow uptake of larger batteries. Italy’s home battery segment also decreased, but the large-scale segment’s capacity surge brought the market to new heights. The UK experienced a temporary slump due to project delays at the large-scale level, but remained at a higher altitude than Austria and Sweden, which both reached the GWh scale for the first time thanks to a very strong growth in the residential and commercial and industrial (C&I) market.

The European Market Outlook for Battery Storage is launched annually at ees Europe.

Notes

• The Press Kit including graphs can be accessed here.
• *In the European Market Outlook for Battery Storage, the Europe region refers to the EU-27 + the UK + Switzerland. 

Spain analysis from the report

• Last year Spain installed less than 250 MWh of batteries (14th biggest market in Europe 2024). Nearly all new installations were smaller-scale batteries (residential or commercial + industrial, not utility).
• Spanish battery installations in 2024 represent a 41% decline relative to 2023, the Spanish market has been declining since 2022
• In 2025, Spain is expected to climb to become a top-5 European battery market. 1.3 GWh of solar is set to be installed, thanks to the utility-scale segment revival.
• At the end of 2024, the report estimates Spain had the fifth largest battery storage fleet in Europe with 1.7 GWh – around 90% of that is small scale (residential/C+I, not utility). 

About SolarPower Europe

SolarPower Europe is the award-winning link between policymakers and the solar PV value chain. Our mission is to ensure solar becomes Europe’s leading energy source by 2030. As the member-led association for the European solar PV sector, SolarPower Europe represents over 320 organisations across the entire solar sector. With solar sitting on the horizon of unprecedented expansion, we work together with our members to create the necessary regulatory and business environment to take solar to the next level.

About ees Europe

Each year, ees Europe, Europe’s largest and most international exhibition for batteries and energy storage systems, provides a networking opportunity for the industry’s key players, such as manufacturers, distributors, project developers, systems integrators, as well as professional users and suppliers – all under the motto “Innovating Energy Storage.” It focuses on the latest technologies, trends and market developments. ees Europe will take place from May 7–9, 2025 as part of The smarter E Europe, Europe’s largest alliance of exhibitions for the energy industry, at Messe München. ees Europe is organised by Solar Promotion GmbH and FWTM (Freiburg Wirtschaft Touristik und Messe GmbH & Co. KG).

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