Jacopo Tosoni, policy director at the European Energy Storage Association (Easy), explains the rapid reshaping of European energy systems driven by cost declines, policy support, grid resilience and energy security.
As Europe accelerated its transition to decarbonized energy systems, energy storage quickly emerged as the basis for this transformation. Once a niche technology becomes, energy storage will be at the heart of a more dynamic, distributed, resilient power grid. Its value is not only to allow greater integration of renewable energy, but also to provide important flexibility and stability for energy systems that are committed to electrification and volatility.
Several forces are driving this shift. Technological advances and sudden drop in costs have made batteries and alternative storage solutions more accessible. Meanwhile, policymakers across the European Union recognize the strategic importance of storage in ensuring energy security, reducing dependence on fossil fuels, and achieving climate goals. As a result, there is a growing environment for support schemes, market reform and regulatory development aimed at achieving the full potential of storage.
At the same time, the challenges remain. From outdated grid infrastructure to fragmented state regulations, energy storage needs to navigate and scale complex environments effectively. However, the momentum cannot be denied. What was once considered a supplementary technology is now being redefine as an essential infrastructure.
In this interview, Jacopo Tosoni from Ease shares insights into the key trends, challenges and opportunities that will shape the future of energy storage across Europe.
How do you explain the current state of energy storage across Europe?
I think this is actually very easy to answer. Energy storage is perhaps the cleanest technology solution deployed throughout Europe. The key point here is that storage is an essential technology for many things. By helping to keep prices low by integrating renewable energy, it acquires cheap electricity, prevents reductions (waste of renewable energy), and reduces grid congestion, blocking the deployment of new renewable projects in many EU countries.
It is also an important technology for energy security. Over the past few years, reliance on European fossil fuel imports has proven geopolitical and economically problematic. These imports have led to high energy and electricity prices. Replacing gas with renewable energy and storage is a great way to improve energy security.
What is increasingly important, especially given recent events, is the security of supply, the ability of the grid to handle new forms of generation. In this context, energy storage plays a key role in helping to provide system services, improve energy quality and prevent major grid incidents. This aspect of service has become more prominent, especially after recent issues in Iberia, attracting the attention of policymakers and stakeholders.
According to a recently published Emmes 9.0 report, 2024 was a record year for energy storage in Europe, reaching 89 GW of installed capacity. What are the main drivers behind this surge in deployment?
The main driver is the price drops significantly. The decline in battery system costs actually exceeded forecasts a few years ago and is expected to decline further in the future. At the same time, the market is evolving, which has strengthened its storage business cases. We see negative electricity prices more frequently, but this could be a storage opportunity.
The policy has also been improved. We see the enforcement of laws across Europe that allow storage to compete on equal playing fields with other technologies. For example, you gain access to the auxiliary services market. This improves your business case.
There is also a growing awareness among policymakers of the key role of storage. There is now an increasing number of support schemes deployed across a variety of technologies and market segments (front meters and behind the scenes (BTM).
Overall, this growth is driven by a combination of factors rather than just factors. And what’s important is there is no indication that this growth will soon be slower.
The balance has evolved between years of technology such as batteries, thermals, and pumped hydro, and what emerging innovations can rebuild the market in the coming years?
When I started out briefly a few years ago, pumped hydropower accounted for over 95% of installation capacity, while other technologies only played a small role. It changed very rapidly. By 2025 or 2026, Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) is expected to overtake hydroelectric power pumped in terms of total installed capacity. That shift, which has been happening within ten years, is dramatic. More broadly, the diversity of storage technologies is increasing.
New solutions are emerging to meet specific needs, such as industrial decarbonization and long-term storage. While some of these technologies are still niches at the moment, as energy systems evolve and the need for flexibility and energy shifts increases, these solutions will gain a larger share of the market, even if they do not become dominant.
Your report also highlights the rapid growth of apartment complexes with frontline storage and renewable energy. How does this change the nature of energy storage projects?
Starting with colocation – yes, it’s definitely on the rise. Historically, frontline (FTM) storage projects have been mostly standalone, and are still the case today. But that’s changing.
There are distinct advantages to project developer colocation. Improved negative price management, reduced reductions, potential maintenance, and more. Communal housing with energy storage is quickly becoming the norm, especially in the case of solar.
When it comes to FTM economics, they are particularly affected by price drops. However, not all trends are positive. In fact, storage is to some extent a victim of its own success. You can see delays in grid connections and authorization processes. Bureaucracy remains a bottleneck, and in many countries, regulatory frameworks have not yet been tailored to storage.
The technology is thriving, but it is still relatively new, with the EU and UK management systems not fully adapted. While improvements may be seen over time, these challenges will continue for at least several years to come.
Do you see the most momentum across the residential, commercial & industrial and utility scale storage segments?
Historically, BTM has been stronger than FTM. But that’s changing. Currently, FTMs are growing at the fastest rate, and that trend will continue for the next few years.
The commercial and industrial (C&I) segment is probably the most underdeveloped, as current installation capacity remains very low. So, while Cumulative capacity is still high in BTM, FTM could overtake it within the next three years.
In the long term, there is a hope for an increase in deployment in the C&I segment, but it may not occur within the next two to three years.
You mentioned bureaucracy before. How effective were European and national policies in promoting energy storage? What improvements would you suggest?
The first mention of energy storage in EU policy was in the Clean Energy Packages around 2018-2019. At that time, the official definition of energy storage was obtained. However, it took many member states from 2022 to 2023 to integrate their definition into national law. That delay indicates that the EU has taken meaningful steps, but often slow.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, both the EU and the central government have paid more attention to storage. The main development was the 2024 EU electricity market design reform. It will take several years to implement at the national level, but it is transformative.
Member countries now need to not only create functional, mid-day, mid-day, balanced markets, but also assess their flexibility needs and set storage targets. This is important. Identifying shortages will allow state aid to be implemented to fill the gap. It’s a potential game changer. This will not be fully realized before 2027, but if it is done it will have a major impact on the big market.
What are the biggest game-changers and disruptions to expect in the European energy storage market for the future?
Many energy storage technologies are already very technically mature. The major challenge up until now has been economic and market design. But now, with a more focus on long-term storage, we are beginning to see the development of new revenue streams that can support these projects.
While completely new technologies may not disrupt the market, what we see is existing technologies, already innovative, but with advanced technology readiness levels (TRLs), which scale up as financial models become more viable.
On the legislative side, I think the next big push from the EU will focus on the grid. This includes improving permits, mitigating grid connections, and reforming network fees. Nationally managed network fees can account for up to 40% of the total cost of ownership of energy storage. And they are often not designed with storage in mind. Fixing it will greatly improve your business case.
The second major theme is electrification. Industrial energy usage remains relatively low in terms of storage, but that changes. Battery and thermal solutions can support the industrial decarburizing industry by enabling the use of inexpensive, locally generated renewable electricity, allowing them to participate in the energy market by participating in the energy market, and even by powering the grid.
Finally, the EU recently announced its new Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework. This streamlines state aid approval. Historically, the EU has been extremely cautious about state aid to avoid market distortions. However, there is a realisation that there is a need for some targeted support not only to help technology reach the market, but also to enable the energy transition, such as ensuring the right capabilities and resilience.
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