PVTIME – A new trilateral agreement has been finalised by EU authorities to speed up the rollout of energy storage across the bloc over the next two years. The European Commission anticipates that this groundbreaking framework will create a supportive commercial environment for large-scale storage development, reducing power system costs, stabilising energy prices and encouraging investment in domestic manufacturing.
Twenty-two of the EU’s 27 member states have pledged to deliver an additional 30–35GW of storage capacity within two years, though the Trilateral Energy Storage Agreement formally sets an overall target of 45GW. Projections show that the EU will require approximately 200GW of operational storage capacity by 2030, compared to around 55GW that had been commissioned by the beginning of this year.
The agreement sets out binding commitments for all participants. Storage developers must submit annual forecasts of planned new capacity additions, and energy-intensive businesses must deploy on-site storage facilities. Member states will remove administrative obstacles and provide national and EU financing for storage expansion and manufacturing activities. The European Commission will support national authorities in designing funding initiatives to advance storage deployment and industrial decarbonisation.
Key policy outcomes include improved renewable power absorption, reduced generation curtailment and cheaper electricity. The deal aims to reduce gas reliance and increase storage’s contribution to peak power demand to 10%, up from 5% in 2025. The deal also sets targets to increase the scale of storage power purchase agreements from 1.5GW in 2026 to 4.5GW by 2028.
Commercial and industrial milestones are covered separately for thermal and battery assets. Industrial thermal storage capacity is expected to increase from 0.5GWh in 2026 to 1.5GWh in 2028. Meanwhile, the target for battery energy storage systems is to expand from 9 GWh to 24 GWh in the same period. However, questions remain over whether these objectives surpass natural market growth trajectories.
The European Investment Bank is extending its EUR 1.5 billion grid manufacturing programme to include Europe’s storage supply chain. This support includes counter guarantees for component producers, as well as equity and debt financing for European storage technology research and production.
Alexander Rangelov, Chief Executive of the Bulgarian battery storage company IPS, signed the document alongside EU energy ministers and Commissioner Dan Jørgensen. He emphasised that the agreement aims to accelerate storage deployment, enhance power system resilience, and bolster Europe’s autonomous manufacturing capacity in this strategic sector.
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