Europe reached 100 GW of installed energy storage capacity in November 2025, a milestone equivalent to the peak electricity demand of Germany and the Netherlands combined. This aggregate encompasses hydropower, pumped storage, thermal systems, and batteries—yet battery storage emerged as the fastest-growing segment. The milestone was less a symbolic endpoint and more a threshold moment: evidence that storage had transitioned from experimental to essential.
The distribution of this capacity tells a story about continental imbalances. Hydropower and pumped storage dominated Alpine and Scandinavian regions, accounting for roughly 75% of total capacity, whilst battery storage—the most geographically flexible technology—remained comparatively nascent at around 11 GW. Deployment accelerated sharply in 2024 and 2025, signalling a fundamental shift away from pilot projects toward system-critical infrastructure.
We are at a turning point. Batteries are the key infrastructure for a secure and competitive energy system, but we’re not moving fast enough.
By the end of 2025, Europe’s battery fleet reached approximately 61 GWh of installed energy storage, concentrated in Germany, Italy and Spain. Despite this progress, projections indicate Europe will require up to 780 GWh of battery storage by 2030 to support a renewables-dominant electricity system. The 100 GW milestone therefore marked both achievement and exposure of the scale still required.
Battery installations in 2025 grew by 36% year-over-year, reaching 29.7 GWh. This rebound followed a comparatively subdued 15% growth rate in 2024 and was driven primarily by utility-scale systems. For the first time, batteries shifted from a supporting role to the primary driver of storage market expansion.
Germany remained Europe’s central battery market, with over 3.5 GW of utility-scale capacity deployed and expectations to double by 2034. Italy emerged as a major growth market, deploying 3.4 GWh in 2024—an increase of more than fifteen times year-on-year, supported by merchant revenues, hybrid projects, and a 58 GWh national target by 2030. Across Europe, batteries increasingly became standard components of wind and solar developments.
Commercial and industrial storage continued to lag behind expectations, despite strong growth forecasts. Residential battery deployment, which had dominated the market during the 2022 energy crisis, contracted in 2025 as emergency subsidy schemes were phased out. The market rebalanced toward grid-scale assets capable of delivering flexibility at system level.
Year-on-year growth in battery installations across Europe
New battery storage capacity installed in Europe in 2025
Increase in annual battery deployment in Italy compared to 2024
of renewable developers plan to co-locate storage with generation by 2028
Co-locating batteries with renewable generation became the dominant deployment model in 2025. By year-end, 61% of renewable developers planned to integrate storage with generation assets by 2028. This approach reduced curtailment and eased grid congestion by managing variability at the point of production.
Co-located battery storage capacity by country (GWh)
Source: Wood Mackenzie European BESS Analysis 2025
Hybrid solar-plus-battery projects demonstrated strong commercial performance. Revenue stacking—combining energy arbitrage, grid services, and capacity payments—proved viable across multiple markets, particularly in the UK and Italy. Nordic countries adapted the model to frequency and balancing services, confirming its flexibility across regulatory contexts.
Regulatory frameworks reinforced this trend. Multiple Central and Southeast European countries introduced dedicated auctions for co-located projects, while updated EU permitting guidance explicitly encouraged storage integration. What began as a commercial optimisation rapidly became a structural requirement.
Home battery installations declined in 2025 as crisis-driven incentives were withdrawn. Residential systems fell to 33% of new market additions, down from more than half during peak crisis years. The contraction was visible across major markets, including Germany and Spain.
Attachment rates, however, remained high. In Italy and Germany, more than four in five new rooftop solar systems were paired with storage, reflecting integration into renovation cycles rather than policy-driven uptake. Micro-storage paired with balcony solar systems emerged as a small but fast-growing segment.
Residential battery markets stabilised as subsidies ended
Policy priorities shifted accordingly. Governments increasingly redirected support toward business and utility-scale storage, as illustrated by SME-focused programmes such as Lithuania’s €18 million incentive scheme. Residential batteries transitioned from emergency adoption to long-term, economically driven deployment.
Germany’s battery storage pipeline exceeded 500 GW of grid connection requests by late 2025. This volume (over fifty times annual electricity demand) exposed grid infrastructure as the binding constraint, not capital or policy support.
By the end of 2025, Germany alone had more than 500 GW of battery connection requests. The grid is now the bottleneck.
The issue extended across Europe. Multi-year grid connection queues increasingly undermined project viability, particularly for large-scale storage assets. Developers faced long delays between permitting and operation, increasing exposure to cost and market risk.
Mitigation strategies emerged slowly. Some countries accelerated deployment through hybrid project structures and targeted grid services, but overall grid reinforcement lagged well behind deployment needs. Infrastructure readiness remained the principal brake on storage expansion.
Grid connection is the primary barrier to storage deployment
By 2030, Europe’s energy storage capacity is projected to exceed 215 GW. Battery storage alone is expected to surpass 160 GW, representing more than 115% growth in five years. Achieving this trajectory requires sustained annual deployment far above historical norms.
Deployment projections remain cautious. Even optimistic scenarios place Europe at roughly 400 GWh of battery storage by 2029, well below the 780 GWh required for full system balancing. The gap between ambition and system needs has narrowed but remains significant.
Market confidence has strengthened. Utility-scale batteries now attract institutional investment and industrial-scale development, yet success depends on parallel progress in grid infrastructure, manufacturing capacity, and regulatory alignment.
