A new analysis from the latest European Market Outlook for Battery Storage shows that Europe experienced another record-breaking year for battery storage installations, even though the year-on-year growth rate has slowed.
In 2024, Europe added 21.9 GWh of battery energy storage systems (BESS), marking the eleventh straight year of record-setting installations and raising the continent’s total battery capacity to 61.1 GWh. However, the annual growth rate declined to 15%—a slowdown following three years of doubling new capacity additions.
Download SolarPower Europe’s European Market Outlook for Battery Storage 2025-2029
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.”
Europe’s BESS market is projected to accelerate in the coming years, though still falling short of what’s needed. In the most likely scenario for 2025, battery storage installations are expected to reach 29.7 GWh—marking a 36% annual increase. By 2029, installations are forecasted to grow sixfold to nearly 120 GWh, pushing total capacity to 400 GWh (with 334 GWh in the EU-27). Despite this growth, it remains significantly below the required levels to ensure grid flexibility in a renewables-based energy system. As highlighted in the Mission Solar 2040 study, the EU-27 would need 780 GWh of BESS capacity by 2030 to fully support the energy 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:
- 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.
- Grid connection procedures and pricing frameworks must be reformed to facilitate access, prioritise hybrid systems, and fairly allocate costs.
- BESS must have full and fair access to electricity markets, with clear revenue streams, updated Guarantees of Origin frameworks, and permission to stack revenues.
- Balancing markets must become fully competitive and accessible to storage, through harmonised technical standards and transparent procurement.
- Europe must enhance smart metering and data communication standards to enable real-time energy management and seamless BESS integration.
Europe’s battery storage growth in 2025 will largely depend on the commissioning of large-scale utility battery projects throughout the year. This segment is expanding rapidly and, for the first time, is expected to account for the majority of battery installations across the continent.
While home batteries have traditionally led the European storage market, their share is projected to decline to 33% in 2025. With the easing of the energy crisis and the phasing out of related incentive programs, fewer homeowners are opting to install batteries. In contrast, the commercial and industrial (C&I) battery sector is expected to see modest growth, as more businesses recognize the energy security and cost-saving benefits of combining solar with storage solutions.
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 European markets accounted for 78% of the region’s new battery capacity, although their rankings shifted somewhat. Germany continued to hold the top spot, despite a decline in residential installations and slow adoption of larger batteries. Italy saw a decrease in the home battery sector, but a significant increase in the large-scale segment pushed the market to new heights. The UK faced a temporary dip due to project delays in the large-scale sector but remained ahead of Austria and Sweden, both of which reached the GWh scale for the first time, driven by strong growth in residential and commercial and industrial (C&I) markets.
