Europe’s storage capacity passes 100 GW, overtakes nuclear

From ESS News

LCP Delta and Energy Storage Europe said Europe added a record 13.5 GW/26.4 GWh of electrochemical storage in 2025, pushing total installed storage capacity across all technologies to 102.7 GW.

The report said behind-the-meter capacity reached 30.2 GW/46.2 GWh by the end of 2025, led by energy storage in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, and the United Kingdom. The researchers said this growth is being driven by solar-plus-storage adoption, the rollout of dynamic electricity tariffs, and growing electrification of homes and businesses.

Front-of-the-meter battery storage reached 18.5 GW/34.4 GWh, the report said, with momentum strongest in countries with established capacity markets, including the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, and Belgium, as well as those with dedicated large-scale storage support schemes such as Bulgaria and Spain.

LCP Delta and Energy Storage Europe said Germany’s nuclear phase-out, which removed around 11 GW of capacity, was the biggest contributor to the decline in Europe’s nuclear fleet, which has now been overtaken by storage capacity. The organizations raised their utility-scale battery deployment outlook by 25% compared with last year’s edition of the report.

“The continued growth in energy storage shows that the industry recognizes its value and benefits,” said Silvestros Vlachopoulos, energy storage research manager at LCP Delta and lead author of the report. “While this momentum is encouraging, the focus must now shift to keeping pace with rising demand.”

Jacopo Tosoni, deputy secretary-general and head of policy at Energy Storage Europe, said no European country has yet reached its full storage potential. He said Europe needs technology-neutral market design, faster permitting and grid connections, and improved access to flexibility and capacity mechanisms to ensure storage can compete on a level playing field across electricity markets.

The EMMES report is now in its 10th year, with LCP Delta and Energy Storage Europe tracking installed storage capacity, near-term project pipelines, and forecasts to 2030 across the European Union, Great Britain, Switzerland, and Norway.