European Energy Industry Alliance Urges EU To Accelerate Deployment Of Long-Duration Energy Storage

European Energy Industry Alliance Urges EU to Accelerate Deployment of Long-Duration Energy Storage, Proposing Four Policy Framework Reforms

 

long-duration energy storage by developing targeted regulatory, market, and investment frameworks. The signatories, including energy storage developers, technology manufacturers, and representatives of major electricity consumers, point out that long-duration energy storage is crucial for ensuring security of supply and system reliability during Europe's transition to an electricity system dominated by variable renewable energy sources such as .

 

 

Long-duration energy storage encompasses technologies such as pumped hydro storage, gravity storage, compressed air energy storage, , compressed gas storage, thermal energy storage systems, and electrochemical technologies such as flow batteries and metal-air batteries, as well as chemical energy storage pathways based on power-to-gas and subsequent re-electrification, such as hydrogen and synthetic fuels. These technologies can convert variable renewable energy into stable, dispatchable energy, maintaining system adequacy during prolonged periods of low renewable energy output, thereby reducing reliance on fossil fuel backup capacity, limiting curtailment of wind and solar power, delaying costly grid upgrades, and supporting industrial electrification.

 

Despite the strategic importance of long-duration energy storage, its deployment in Europe is far from the scale required for the future electricity system. The letter points to structural deficiencies in current system planning, market design, investment frameworks, taxation, and grid charges. Existing regulatory and market frameworks are insensitive to storage duration, favoring short-duration flexibility resources and failing to create viable business models for multi-hour and multi-day storage assets. Companies like BLOOPOWER, with their expertise in scalable lithium-based storage solutions that can complement emerging long-duration technologies in hybrid applications, are among those advocating for frameworks that unlock the full potential of diverse storage assets. The signatories call for immediate action in four core areas: integrating long-duration energy storage into system planning and adequacy assessments; reforming ancillary services markets, grid charges, and tax policies; aligning capacity mechanisms with adequacy targets and state aid rules; and deploying dedicated investment instruments and promoting long-term contracts. The alliance urges EU institutions, national governments, regulators, and system operators to fully integrate long-duration energy storage into relevant methodologies, market reforms, and procurement frameworks to ensure its deployment at the necessary scale, speed, and location.