Energy storage is no longer a backup technology — it may be Europe’s fastest fix for a grid system that cannot keep up with the renewable energy boom. That was the argument made at an EU Perspectives roundtable on the European Commission’s proposed European Grids Package. But turning industry consensus into binding policy remains the hard part.
For the storage industry, the conclusion is becoming clear. “One solution is to build more grids, but that takes time because of permitting and financing,” said Daniel Vig, Senior Policy Officer at Energy Storage Europe. “Energy storage can be deployed much faster.”
That speed advantage is becoming even more important for Europe’s electricity system. Major transmission projects frequently take a decade or more to move from planning to operation, often slowed by lengthy permitting procedures, environmental reviews and public opposition. At the same time, solar and wind deployment across Europe continues to accelerate.
€8.9 billion lost
The mismatch is already generating significant economic costs. According to Aurora Energy Research figures discussed during the roundtable, the cost of curtailment and compensation payments linked to excess renewable electricity reached €8.9 billion in 2024. Curtailment occurs when renewable electricity is available but cannot be transported or consumed because the grid lacks sufficient capacity.
Renewables have grown faster than the grids. Energy storage can help bridge that gap.
— Daniel Vig, Senior Policy Officer, Energy Storage Europe
Mr Vig argued that storage offers one of the few technologies capable of responding on the timescale required by the transition. “Renewables have grown faster than the grids,” he said. “Energy storage can help bridge that gap.”
The sector is already scaling rapidly. According to Mr Vig, energy storage capacity in the EU reached 100 GW at the end of last year, underlining how quickly batteries and other storage technologies are expanding across European markets.
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Once again, the issue lies in fragmentation
That growth has attracted the attention of policymakers in Brussels. The European Commission has begun referring to storage as “grid friendly” infrastructure. These are assets that can stabilise electricity systems, absorb excess renewable production and reduce pressure on congested transmission networks.
But despite growing political support, the regulatory framework surrounding storage remains fragmented. “The European institutions identify storage as grid friendly assets,” Mr Vig said. “However, this is only a recommendation.”
In practice, most decisions on grid access, permitting and connection priorities remain in the hands of national regulators and transmission operators. That fragmentation has produced sharply different conditions between member states. Some countries have streamlined permitting and given storage preferential grid treatment. Others still process storage projects under frameworks designed for traditional generation assets.
Mr Vig argues that the problem is becoming more urgent. Connection queues across Europe continue to grow. “There is currently in the EU more than 1,700 GW of capacities awaiting grid connection,” Mr Vig said during the debate. That figure is significantly larger than the EU’s current installed power generation capacity.
According to the storage industry, batteries could help relieve part of that pressure. They can make existing infrastructure more efficient rather than relying exclusively on new transmission lines. Storage can shift electricity consumption away from peak hours, reduce congestion. It can also help stabilise grids during periods of fluctuating renewable production.
Competitiveness, environment affected
Other participants in the discussion warned that Europe’s infrastructure delays risk undermining broader economic goals tied to electrification, clean industry and artificial intelligence. “Permitting is the key, of course, and it should primarily be the member states dealing with this,” said the ECR Group’s shadow rapporteur Ondřej Krutílek (ECR/CZ), member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy. “In general, I think that the proposal goes in the right direction.”
At the same time, storage is unlikely to replace the need for major grid expansion altogether. Transmission operators participating in the debate stressed that Europe still requires substantial investment into physical infrastructure, particularly cross-border interconnectors and backbone projects. “The package must focus more clearly on the real implementation barriers to timely grid delivery,” said Andrew Kasembe of ČEPS and ENTSO-E.
Those barriers include permitting delays, spatial and land-use planning, supply chain shortages and staffing constraints. Still, the debate highlighted a growing shift in how policymakers and industry increasingly frame the role of batteries in Europe’s energy transition. Rather than being viewed primarily as a complementary technology, storage is increasingly being treated as a tool capable of buying Europe time while slower grid projects are built.
