The Long Duration Energy Storage Council welcomes the European Commission’s Electrification Action Plan and its recognition of long duration energy storage (LDES) as a key enabler of electrification. The LDES Council also welcomes the Tripartite Agreement on Energy Storage as an important step towards accelerating energy storage deployment across Europe. 

Electrification will be central to Europe’s clean energy transition. As more industry, buildings and transport switch to electricity, the energy system will need to integrate growing shares of renewable energy while maintaining reliability, resilience and affordability for consumers. Long duration energy storage technologies will play a critical role in providing the flexibility needed to balance supply and demand, strengthen energy security, reduce renewable curtailment, and support industrial competitiveness by enabling reliable, low-carbon power and heat for industry. 

To accelerate deployment, the LDES Council calls on Europe to complement its electrification ambitions with: 

• A long-term roadmap for LDES deployment beyond 2028, building on the Tripartite Agreement and providing investors with confidence to develop the next generation of projects. 

• A comprehensive assessment of Europe’s long-duration flexibility needs, distinguishing between intraday, multi-day and seasonal requirements, and assessing both front and behind- the-meter flexibility, including thermal energy storage. 

• Dedicated procurement mechanisms where long-duration flexibility needs have been identified, including industrial decarbonisation auctions, competitive procurement processes, cap-and-floor mechanisms and other long-term market frameworks that provide revenue certainty while remaining technology-neutral and outcome-based. 

• Electricity charges that reward long duration flexibility, including ending double charging of energy storage, reducing levies on electricity bills, and introducing more variable transmission and distribution network tariffs. 

• Market frameworks that reward long duration flexibility, including capacity accreditation methodologies that better recognise the reliability contribution of longer duration supply- and demand- side resources during extended periods of system stress. 

• Faster permitting, grid connection and planning processes to reduce project lead times and accelerate deployment. 

Together, these measures will help unlock investment, accelerate delivery and ensure Europe develops the flexibility needed to support an increasingly electrified, renewable and resilient energy system. 

Commenting on the publication of the Electrification Action Plan, Will Broad, Global Director of Policy & Markets at the LDES Council, said: 

The Electrification Action Plan provides a strong foundation for Europe’s transition to an electrified economy. The LDES Council looks forward to working with the European Commission, Member States and industry partners to translate this ambition into practical market frameworks and investment signals that accelerate the deployment of long duration energy storage and deliver a secure, affordable and competitive energy system for Europe.