With the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, EASE had to adapt some of the activities performed in the framework of EU-funded projects to make sure that the topic addressed stayed relevant. We worked hard to turn challenges into opportunities, organising and shaping discussions around funding, policy and technology.
01.02.2021 / News
2020: A Key Year for the Future of Energy Storage in Europe
2020 was a significant year for energy storage policy, as the European Commission, European Parliament, and many other stakeholders took an active interest for the sector. This was especially clear when it came to the European Green Deal, the ambitious plan from the new EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to accelerate the transition to a net-zero emissions energy system by 2050.
The European Green Deal Sets Path to Energy Storage
One of the Commission’s most eagerly awaited policy proposals were the Energy System Integration Strategy and the Hydrogen Strategy, released in July 2020. Both strategies are positive for storage, supporting the deployment of all types of energy storage projects across the EU, including power-to-x and thermal storage. Energy storage can link different energy and economic sectors – electricity, gas, heating and cooling, transport, and industry – a fact clearly recognised by the Commission. Integrating these sectors can increase the efficiency of the whole system while contributing positively to energy security.
In October 2020 the European Commission published the Renovation Wave, a strategy to accelerate building renovation while reducing Europe’s GHG emissions. Energy storage solutions installed in residential homes or commercial and industrial facilities can increase the integration of renewable and surplus energy into buildings. As such, it can facilitate the decarbonisation of the heating and cooling sectors which currently are heavily dependent on fossil fuels.
Other Green Deal policies – including the Energy Taxation Directive, the TEN-E revision, the smart mobility strategy, and the Batteries Regulation – continued this positive trend of addressing the different barriers to energy storage deployment. We have no doubt that this positive momentum for energy storage is not going to stop in 2021.
More Funding for Energy Storage Research, Development, and Deployment
Public funding is also an essential component to bring more innovative energy storage projects to fruition. 2020 was also key in the design of new funds to encourage innovation or to support the changes of the decarbonisation of energy production.
In January 2020 the European Commission presented the European Green Deal Investment Plan and the Just Transition Mechanism. The Just Transition Mechanism is meant to provide targeted support to help mobilise over €150 billion from 2021 to 2027 to help with the socio-economic impact of the transition in the most affected regions.
On 16 September 2020 the European Parliament plenary approved its position on the Just Transition Fund (JTF) and called for significantly higher funding than the Council and the Commission. The Parliament’s amendments added energy storage technologies to the scope of support of the Just Transition Fund. This will unlock funding for energy storage, a valuable tool that can help islands, industrial, coal and energy intensive regions transition to a more sustainable energy system.
In addition, policymakers agreed on a new Multi-annual Financial Framework and Next Generation EU recovery plan of €1.8 trillion. Among that consequent sum of money, a third - €600 billion euros – are earmarked for climate spending. These recovery funds recognise the important role of supporting investments in clean energy technologies such as storage through programmes including Horizon Europe, the Recovery and Resilience Facility, InvestEU, and others.
2020, and after?
The European Green Deal is an ambitious roadmap with numerous policies aimed at transforming Europe’s economy and society. For years, the challenge for the storage sector has been raising awareness and understanding of the role of storage for the system. Now, energy storage is clearly front and centre for policymakers – the challenge is to ensure that the policies, and their implementation, fully support the implementation of energy storage projects across the EU.
EASE is looking forward to keep on contributing in shaping the future of European energy and by developing its flexibility and reliability. On the table for 2021, the Fit for 55 Package should occupy a large portion of the year, by addressing necessary revisions of existing directives and fostering various initiatives to reach the 55% greenhouse-gases emissions reduction set for 2030.
With the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, EASE had to adapt some of the activities performed in the framework of EU-funded projects to make sure that the topic addressed stayed relevant. We worked hard to turn challenges into opportunities, organising and shaping discussions around funding, policy and technology.
On 12 July 2022, over 180 participants attended the webinar on how much energy storage does Europe need. The webinar aimed to discuss the huge role energy storage has to play in the evolving energy system, and shed light on how much energy storage will be needed, building upon our estimates in the recently published EASE review paper ‘Energy Storage Targets 2030 and 2050’.
EASE has estimated that the European Union no-regret requirements for energy storage are 200 GW by 2030 and 600 GW by 2050. Current market trajectories for storage will fail to meet these requirements if urgent measures to boost deployment are not taken now. Yet, energy storage is an essential component for enabling renewables integration and establishing a secure, low-emission and affordable energy system.
EASE has prepared a general overview and the best practices across member states, when looking at the way forward for energy storage grid fees. Energy storage doesn’t receive the same treatment across the European Union as far as grid fees go: different technologies, different location (behind-the-meter vs front of the meter), have to face a variety of tariff structures, often not consistent with the EU-level rules as set by the Electricity Market Regulation.
The EASE Task Force on Multi-Services Business Cases for Energy Storage has prepared a report looking at the key role of energy storage as a Local Flexibility provider. This paper gives an overview of existing short-term local flexibility schemes in Europe today including Active-network management (ANM) and other flexibility services and their implications on the business case for energy storage.
