Investment case for European battery storage market powers up

The Aurora Battery Conference 2023 saw policy makers, developers and investors from across the industry coming together to explore the many challenges and opportunities facing the storage sector today.

Joining them was Anesco CEO, Hildagarde McCarville, who shared her insights as part of an expert panel, discussing European markets and the best technologies and business models for flexibility.

As an early pioneer of battery storage, GB has a relatively mature market and Anesco has been at the forefront of its growth, installing the country’s first battery unit back in 2014. The company has also further fuelled adoption through the provision of industry-leading, data-driven, operation and maintenance, and revenue optimisation services, that ensure the greatest potential lifetime returns are achieved for investors. 

Momentum continues to build within the sector. In 2022, the UK added 800MWh of new utility energy storage capacity and by the end of Q3 2023 total capacity had hit 3.1GW/3.8GWh. This could rise to 24GW by the end of the decade, according to energy research firm Rystad Energy. 

As for the wider European market, we can also expect to see a substantial surge in overall battery capacity in the coming years. Hildagarde explains: “It was a pleasure to attend the Aurora Battery Conference and to see such collective optimism for the potential growth of the storage market, in both the UK and across Europe – a key theme running across the event.

“A crucial factor in such growth is that battery storage is starting to become investable in Europe. The increasing deployment of renewables is in turn accelerating the need for batteries to help store and move energy, and to provide frequency services. We’re already seeing this drive investment, particularly across northern Europe.

“However, we can’t ignore that some key obstacles remain. One of the biggest being network costs (those costs associated with connecting and using the local distribution systems) so it’s vital that the various country’s system operators actively look at ways to remove such barriers.”

Hildagarde concluded: “My thanks to the Aurora Energy Research team for a fantastic event. There is great value in joining with industry peers, to explore what’s happening in the market and to take a step back and reflect on wider microtrends, to inform effective decision making.

“What is clear is just how essential battery storage remains for supporting the transition to renewable energy and if the target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 is to be achieved.”

Anesco charity cyclists arrive at head office
Chris Stirling, Anesco HSE Manager

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