National Energy and Climate Plans must tackle persisting barriers to energy storage

National energy and climate plans (NECPs) are essential documents where EU countries outline their national strategy over the next 10 years to meet the EU energy and climate targets for 2030. As it is estimated that the EU-wide energy storage capacity needs to be doubled for the EU to reach its climate objectives, Member States must address existing barriers to energy storage and provide long-term guidance for its development.

However, while many countries acknowledge the role of energy storage for energy security and the decarbonisation of their energy system, most of the draft NECPs already published often overlook simple steps to take.

In order to tackle persisting barriers to energy storage Member States should:

• Provide a precise flexibility assessment, including long-term energy storage.
• Set up a comprehensive strategy on energy storage to guide its development.
• Address common hurdles to energy storage projects at the national level (e.g. double charging).
• Keep a technology-neutral approach that allows for deploying all available energy storage solutions.

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