EMMES 5.0: Total Annual Energy Storage Market in Europe Expected to Reach 3,000 MWh in 2021

On 23 March 2021, the European Association for Storage of Energy (EASE), the leading member-supported association representing organisations active across the entire energy storage value chain, and Delta-EE, Europe’s leading new energy research and consulting company, launch the fifth edition of the European Market Monitor on Energy Storage (EMMES).

The report reveals the effects of the pandemic on the energy storage market, with lockdown affecting commercial and industrial and behind-the-meter segments, while front-of-meter projects proved more resilient. Looking ahead, 2021 looks particularly strong for the sector with new ancillary services opening across Europe and national targets further supporting regional projects.

The total annual energy storage market in Europe is expected to reach 3,000 MWh in 2021, almost double the annual storage deployments seen in 2020.

The EMMES highlights the strong performance of front-of-meter market across Europe in 2020, with new balancing and ancillary services in countries such as Italy, the UK and the Nordic region supporting demand for grid-level storage projects of increasing duration.

Behind the meter however, the residential and commercial and industrial (C&I) sectors felt the impact of the pandemic much harder, with onsite installations inhibited by lockdowns. The report expects these sectors to recover as the pandemic abates, but also that they will be boosted by COVID recovery. The €1.8 trillion EU COVID-19 Recovery Plan expects to deliver significant public investment into clean energy technologies, including storage. The European Parliament has called on the Commission to develop a new comprehensive EU energy storage strategy which could create new market incentives and help accelerate recovery.

Patrick Clerens, EASE Secretary General, said: “The excellent 2021 storage outlook is a testament to the importance of a supportive policy and market framework for storage: the implementation of the Clean Energy Package is opening up new markets around Europe and improving the business case for storage. Policymakers’ strong commitment to the EU Green Deal and a ‘green’ COVID-19 recovery is hugely promising for the storage sector.”

Jon Ferris, Head of Energy Storage and Flexibility at Delta-EE added: “Last year’s report showed stalled market growth, particularly for the front-of-meter sector, so the fact that it rebounded in the midst of the pandemic is remarkable.  We are anticipating growth in the sector will accelerate as improved access to markets, particularly for behind-the-meter storage, and the increasing ability for batteries to stack value from multiple markets, add to government support from ‘green recovery’ packages.”

The EMMES examines the European energy storage market, by country and market segment (front-of-meter, C&I, residential). The report covers France, Italy, Germany, the UK and other European regional markets, and also touches upon European policy updates relevant to the sector. The full report is available from EASE.