BESS in Europe: Who is ahead, and what can Danish industry learn from them?

Industrial battery storage is developing at different speeds across European markets. For Danish industrial companies, that means useful experience can be drawn from neighbouring countries where, in several of the markets covered here, the technology already has a clear role.

This article reviews BESS in selected European countries. We look at the drivers shaping the markets in the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands, and we show which lessons Danish industry can use as a reference for its own energy projects.

The European landscape for industrial battery storage

Growth is not evenly distributed. Some countries have focused mainly on large, centralised plants, while others have created strong incentives for industrial behind-the-meter storage. The differences often stem from each country's specific grid challenges, regulatory frameworks, and local industry's need for supply security and cost control.

United Kingdom: A market with a strong system role

The United Kingdom has around 4.5 GW of battery storage capacity, and the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan sets out an expansion to between 23 and 27 GW by 2030. That underlines that the British market is driven by a clear system role for batteries, not only by local industrial use.

Batteries are treated as part of balancing the grid, and access to connection capacity remains a practical constraint, so readiness to connect matters for how quickly projects can progress.

British authorities set specific health and safety requirements for battery plants, which reflects a market with relatively clear technical and regulatory frameworks.

Germany: High industrial demand and complex grid connection

Germany represents a market where interest in battery storage is substantial, and where grid connection and project development take up a large share of market development.

Interest in establishing capacity is considerable. By the end of 2024 there were around 650 connection requests for large battery storage plants with German grid operators, corresponding to a combined power rating of 226 GW. That figure covers requests and does not necessarily reflect plants in operation, but it illustrates directly that grid connection and project readiness are central topics in the market.

For example, a Baukostenzuschuss (grid connection contribution) may be charged for grid-connected battery storage above low-voltage level. This is a connection charge that adds an extra economic dimension to project development.

The Netherlands: Batteries as part of the response to grid congestion

In the Netherlands, RVO (the Netherlands Enterprise Agency) notes that grid congestion is widespread, that companies can face waiting lists for new connections, and that flexible contracts and batteries can be used to relieve the grid. That same RVO overview of grid congestion shows in particular how batteries can form part of the solution in concrete grid-constraint situations. That is a targeted use of batteries in a stressed grid system, not a general description of the whole market.

Concrete examples of industrial use

Although specific company cases vary, the European markets point to some typical ways industry applies the technology in practice. In the United Kingdom, industrial and commercial applications are defined broadly and can include plants installed as stand-alone units on local factory networks.

The primary application methods in European industry include the following functions:

• Self-consumption optimisation: Companies use batteries to smooth their electricity consumption over the day.
• Peak shaving: Industrial companies with short, high power draws use the battery to supply peak load and reduce strain on the electricity grid.
• Flexible operation: In some cases the battery can form part of overall operational control when it is not tied to internal loads.

Regulatory differences from Denmark

When we compare Denmark with markets such as the United Kingdom and Germany, there are marked differences in market design. In Denmark, the business case for industrial battery storage typically depends on the company's own load profile, grid tariffs (charges for using the electricity network), and possible flexibility services, often by combining shifting consumption, reducing power peaks, and creating operational flexibility. That makes the Danish framework more dependent on the interplay between operations, connection, and consumption than on a large, separate capacity market.

What Danish industry can learn and apply now

European experience points especially to three learning points for Danish industry: early assessment of grid connection, the need to combine several value streams, and the requirement for control that can prioritise between internal operational needs and market services. Applied carefully, and within those limits, lessons from more mature markets can still give companies a practical basis for decisions on their own projects.

Grid connection should enter the process early. Experience from Germany and the United Kingdom shows that access to the electricity grid is not always straightforward. Danish companies considering electrification of processes or expansion of production can usefully assess their grid capacity in good time. A battery plant can in some cases be an option if grid connection or power delivery is the concrete bottleneck, but that assessment has to be tied to the individual grid operator's terms and the project's timeline, including, in Germany, economic factors such as a possible Baukostenzuschuss.

Multifunctional plants provide greater flexibility. Several industrial plants in Europe combine functions such as peak shaving and participation in system services. That requires control that can prioritise between different tasks in real time, so the battery is used where the value is greatest.

An industrial BESS plant should be assessed on more than battery capacity alone. Overall value depends on control, connection, tariff structure, and the company's consumption profile.

Contact details: Contact Zynex Group