The EU’s first tripartite agreement to boost energy storage is signed

The European Commission has brought together several EU energy ministers, storage system developers and manufacturers, renewable energy developers, energy-consuming industries and financial institutions to sign the EU’s first tripartite agreementon energy storage. The signing took place today in Luxembourg, as part of the meeting of the Energy Council. The aim of this first tripartite agreement is to accelerate the roll-out of short-term storage, which will make the electricity system more secure and flexible. The implementation of this tripartite agreement represents a further step towards achieving a decarbonised, more efficient system capable of supplying cheaper energy.

Energy storage is the missing link in the energy transition and can play a key role in reducing and stabilising energy prices. The EU needs to expand domestically produced renewable energy to reduce its dependence on volatile fossil fuel markets and strengthen security of supply. However, increasing renewable energy alone is not enough. It must be accompanied by optimising the operation of the energy system. In this context, storage is essential. Storing energy until it is most needed can improve the integration of renewables and deliver greater benefits to consumers.

This pioneering tripartite agreement will help create a favourable business environment for rapidly expanding energy storage capacity across Europe. It will help reduce the system’s operating costs, ease the pressure that high and volatile energy prices place on EU businesses, whilst sending a clear signal to the market and strengthening the EU’s manufacturing capacity in this sector.

As part of the agreement, 22 EU Member States have committed to achieving ambitious energy storage targets over the next two years. Taken together, these commitments represent between 30 and 35 GW of storage capacity.

Commitments under the tripartite agreement on energy storage

As part of the agreement, developers of energy storage and renewable energy projects will provide annual estimates of new energy storage and hybrid projects, as well as their volumes. For their part, energy-consuming industries have committed to developing energy storage projects at their own sites and to providing clearer information on when and how much electricity they consume. This transparency regarding the project portfolio is essential to providing clarity and certainty for investors.

For their part, Member States will support the energy storage sector by removing barriers that slow down progress. They have committed to allowing national regulatory authorities to set or approve non-discriminatory network tariffs that reflect actual costs, thereby promoting flexibility. Where necessary, Member States will provide financial support for the deployment and manufacture of energy storage systems through national and EU funding, in accordance with state aid rules, such as the Clean Industry State Aid Framework (CISAF).

As a key contribution to the implementation of the agreed measures, financial institutions (in particular, national and regional banks, including development banks)will share their expertise on storage projects to make them more attractive to investors, and will collaborate with the EIB Group and amongst themselves to increase the impact of financing for storage solutions.

TheCommissionwill support EU Member States in developing funding plans for energy storage and will contribute to the decarbonisation of energy-intensive industries, including through theIndustrial Decarbonisation Bank. It will also explore ways to support the deployment of energy storage under theInnovation Fund, update network rules to encourage such deployment, and assess possible ways to improve the alignment between public sector transition investments and the EU’s environmental objectives when reviewing the taxonomy disclosure rules in early 2027.

Next steps

The Commission will lead and coordinate the delivery of the objectives of this tripartite agreement and will monitor progress annually until 2028. It will also support exchanges between the signatories on challenges and best practices in the field of energy storage through theEnergy Union Working Group, regional groups and other existing forums, such as the Concerted Action for Renewable Energy Sources (CA-RES).

Background

It is estimated that the EU will need around 200 GW of storage capacity by 2030 to meet the needs of its energy system, compared with the approximately 55 GW installed at the start of this year. Achieving this target will require a substantial acceleration of the various storage technologies, alongside renewables and other non-fossil sources of flexibility.

The European Council, in itsConclusions of 19 March 2026,also called for the accelerated deployment and integration of renewable energy sources and energy storage, in order to reduce dependence on volatile fossil fuel markets and improve security of supply. The concept of tripartite agreements was introduced in the Action Plan for Affordable Energy. These agreements aim to bring together the key players in a given energy sector — industry, public authorities and financial institutions — around a common set of commitments designed to reduce investment risks. In this way, they can help to reduce energy prices in the short term and, more structurally, in the long term for EU industry and businesses.

More information: European Commission.