14 GW of energy storage capacity under construction in Europe

There are 147 energy storage projects under construction in Europe, with a total capacity of 14 GW, according to the European Energy Storage Inventory, launched by the European Commission.

The European Energy Storage Inventory comprises operational, under construction, permitted, and announced energy storage projects across Europe. A real-time dashboard for energy storage also includes their locations and technologies – chemical storage, electrochemical storage, mechanical storage, and thermal storage.

According to the European Commission, the European Energy Inventory Storage dataset is mainly based on public data and data from Wood Mackenzie. The users can dive into the map of Energy Storage Projects using interactive tools and filter options by status, technology, subtechnology, and more.

Europe currently has 913 energy storage facilities in operation, with a combined capacity of 67 GW. The predominant technology is mechanical storage (54.6 GW) with pumped storage hydropower plants. However, electrochemical storage, including lithium-ion and flow batteries, is catching up, at 11 GW.

Among 147 projects under construction, electrochemical storage is the leading technology, with 10.4 GW, followed by pumped storage hydropower plants, with 2.7 GW. By far, the largest number of projects are located in the United Kingdom – 66 (6,2 GW). Italy is in second place (with 13 projects totaling 1.7 GW), followed by Germany (19 – 1.6 GW), according to the inventory.

With the REPowerEU Plan and its ambition to accelerate the uptake of renewable energies, as well as in the broader context of the EU climate neutrality goal, energy storage has become ever more important to guarantee energy security of supply, the European Commission said.

In this context, it is important to trace its technological development and deployment across the EU in order to inform energy policymaking, R&I programming, and the revised SET Plan, the EU executive stressed.

The Energy Storage Inventory is added to the existing EIRIE platform. The European Interconnection for Research Innovation & Entrepreneurship (EIRIE) Platform is an interactive multi-functional platform that acts as the meeting point for all actors in energy research and innovation from all over Europe.