Italy, Great Britain and Germany most attractive battery markets in Europe, Aurora reports

Italy is the most attractive European battery market, Aurora Energy Research has claimed, followed by Great Britain and Germany.

The three leading markets are identified in the fourth edition of Aurora’s European Battery Markets Attractiveness Report, published March 3, 2025. Covering 28 markets, the report finds that Italy’s target of 50 GWh battery capacity by 2030, as well as the country opening up its ancillary markets to BESS, puts it ahead of the pack.

In the United Kingdom, Aurora estimated installed BESS capacity on Great Britain’s electricity grid would more than double by 2030, up from 4.3 GW to 10.6 GW. Northern Ireland is part of the Integrated Single Electricity Market (I-SEM) with Ireland. Germany has overtaken I-SEM to become the third most attractive market for BESS investment, according to Aurora, due to its “strong market outlook” and “ambitious” renewable targets. Belgium, Hungary and Greece were also identified as emerging “hotspots” for small-scale energy investors.

Taking Europe as a whole, Aurora Energy Research predicted grid-scale BESS capacity will have a fivefold increase to 55 GW by 2030, up from 10.3 GW recorded by Aurora for October 2024. The longer-term projection in the battery market report predicts 126 GW of European grid-scale BESS by 2050. Aurora estimates that these capacity additions plus repowering projects will represent a EUR 100 billion investment opportunity through 2050.

In a press release, Eva Zimmerman, senior associate flexible energy, pan-European power markets, said the European grid-scale energy storage market continues to be strong, with investment pipelines growing “due to promising opportunities.”

However, Zimmerman added that battery markets have complex revenue-cost dynamics, and European markets differ in size, revenue streams, and risk levels. “This becomes apparent when comparing even our top markets, Italy, and Great Britain,” said Zimmerman. “While Italy holds opportunities to enter the market as a developer looking for greenfield projects, the pipeline in Great Britain is full, hence only being attractive for investors in further advanced projects.”

Jörn Richstein, research lead, pan-European power markets, added that while batteries will play a crucial role in supporting the energy system as the share of renewable technologies in the generation mix grows, there is uncertainty over exactly what flexibility provisions will be required.

“Which types of flexibility provision is needed, and thus which revenue opportunities exist, evolves over time, making this a highly challenging market to navigate and requiring a comprehensive understanding of future local power market developments” said Richstein.