ENERGY STORAGE GERMANY: Europe’s Battery-Powered Breakthrough

As the global race to net zero intensifies, and renewable energy capacity surges across Europe, one country continues to stand tall as a beacon of progress: Germany. In 2025, the country will once again take centre stage as Stuttgart hosts the Energy Storage Summit Germany, from 3–5 June. The event promises to be a landmark gathering of the brightest minds and boldest voices in energy storage—a sector that’s no longer just supporting the energy transition, but driving it.

Set against the backdrop of Europe’s most mature and rapidly evolving battery storage market, this summit could not be more timely. As policymakers, engineers, investors and innovators converge, the message is clear: energy storage is no longer a niche. It is mission-critical.

GERMANY: BATTERY STORAGE TRAILBLAZER

Germany has earned its reputation as a powerhouse in the battery energy storage systems (BESS) space. According to data released by the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur), 2024 saw a record-breaking expansion in storage capacity. Around 600,000 new stationary battery storage systems were installed, pushing the national total to 1.8 million systems. Collectively, these now represent around 19 GWh of capacity—a 50% year-on-year leap.

While much of this growth has come from households coupling batteries with rooftop solar to maximise self-consumption and minimise grid reliance, utility-scale projects are also booming. Large-scale systems added 1 GWh of capacity in 2024 alone, doubling the cumulative national total to over 2.3 GWh.

This momentum reflects more than just government subsidies or green enthusiasm. Germany’s grid—highly renewable but increasingly congested—urgently needs flexibility. Battery systems, whether behind-the-meter or grid-scale, offer rapid-response, decentralised storage to buffer fluctuations from wind and solar, and help balance supply and demand.

A STRATEGIC CROSSROADS

The 2025 edition of the Energy Storage Summit Germany lands at a pivotal moment. As the energy transition hits an inflection point—where renewable capacity is growing faster than transmission infrastructure can handle—storage is stepping up as a balancing force.

The event agenda spans three key themes across its three days:

• Policy & Regulation: Featuring panels on evolving EU and national frameworks, capacity market reforms, permitting processes, and how policymakers can fast-track energy storage deployments.
• Markets & Revenues: Exploring real-world BESS monetisation strategies, energy trading, balancing markets, and merchant revenue opportunities in Germany’s highly liquid power market.
• Deployment: From financing and project development to grid interconnection and battery recycling, this track tackles the entire lifecycle of storage investments.

Co-located with The Battery Show Europe, the summit offers an unparalleled opportunity for attendees to cross-pollinate ideas across both the technological and strategic sides of the energy storage world. It’s not just a conference—it’s a marketplace of solutions.

SHAPING EUROPE’S STORAGE STRATEGY

This year’s speaker roster reflects the event’s growing influence. Industry leaders, financiers, developers and regulators will take the stage to share insights and challenge convention. Among the most anticipated speakers.

• Martin Daronnat, Head of Business Development, Flexibility at ENGIE, who brings sharp focus to how flexible solutions like storage can serve as the bridge between intermittent renewables and dispatchable demand.
• Amin Akherati, Vice President of Infrastructure & Renewables at Berenberg, will unpack the financing landscape for storage, touching on risk mitigation, bankability, and the role of private capital.
• Steffen Schulzen, CEO of Entrix, is set to deliver a session on software-driven optimisation—where algorithms meet infrastructure to extract full value from multi-use storage assets.
• Other key names include Roberto Jiménez (Executive Director, BW ESS) and Daniel Connor (CEO & Founder, Dais Energy), both bringing global insights into successful storage rollouts and long-duration battery innovation.

These voices reflect the international nature of the storage conversation. Germany may lead, but the summit will highlight how lessons learned here are already shaping policy in France, the UK, Italy, and even the U.S.

With Germany targeting 80% renewable electricity by 2030, BESS will be the system’s shock absorber. The most common battery chemistries—lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC)—are now mature, cost-effective, and increasingly localised thanks to EU supply chain reforms.

But new frontiers are also emerging. Sodium-ion and flow batteries are capturing attention for their longer durations and safer thermal profiles—both critical as Europe looks to balance seasonal generation swings and shift away from fossil gas peakers. 

Crucially, the use cases for BESS are diversifying: 

• Frequency regulation
• Arbitrage (buy low, sell high)
• Grid congestion relief
• Backup power for data centres and hospitals
• EV charging infrastructure buffering

As systems evolve to offer “stacked” services—simultaneously tapping into multiple revenue streams—they are fast becoming not just a green solution, but a profitable one. 

FINANCE, POLICY AND INNOVATION: THE HOLY TRINITY 

Policy support has been key. Germany’s streamlined permitting reforms and grid integration incentives are widely viewed as best-in-class, making it a hotbed for international investment. 

For example, VPI, backed by global energy trader Vitol, recently committed €450 million to German battery projects over the next five years, with a target of 500 MW of added capacity. This kind of capital injection is not just symbolic—it’s strategic. 

Yet even with growth, challenges remain. Germany has experienced negative electricity prices and curtailed renewable generation due to bottlenecks and underutilised storage. Think tank Ember estimated that an extra two gigawatts of BESS could have saved the country €2.5 million in natural gas imports in a single month. 

A FORUM FOR REAL SOLUTIONS 

Ultimately, Energy Storage Summit Germany 2025 is more than panels and PowerPoints. It’s a forum for deal-making, idea-sharing, and future-building. It gives utilities, developers, financiers and tech innovators a space to converge—and to act. 

In recent years, the summit has gained a reputation as the place where storage deals get done. From bilateral meetings to impromptu chats on the exhibition floor, the event fosters the kind of collaboration the sector needs to scale. 

As the urgency of decarbonisation increases, so too does the need for cohesion. This event, hosted in a country that embodies energy innovation, offers the industry exactly that. 

Germany is leading, Europe is following, and the world is watching. For those involved in the future of energy, Stuttgart in June is the place to be. 

Register now and be part of the conversation: storagegermany.solarenergyevents.com