UK To See Rapid Expansion In Battery Storage Through 2030

The UK’s battery storage market is set for exponential growth in the coming years, rising from the ground up to reach 24 gigawatts (GW) capacity by the end of the decade. These utility-scale battery systems will attract investments of up to $20 billion and have enough combined energy reserves to power 18 million homes for a year, Rystad Energy analysis shows. Thanks to this rapid expansion, the UK will account for almost 9% of all global capacity installations, sitting fourth in the table behind China, the US and Germany.

As the UK installs more solar and wind energy infrastructure, the need for reliable storage solutions increases due to the intermittent nature of these renewable sources. Consequently, the government has set ambitious energy storage requirement targets, eyeing 30 GW of capacity by 2030, including batteries, flywheel, pumped hydro and liquid air energy storage.

Tanjent’s PowerBanx X battery storage, in black enclosure (Image: Tanjent)

We project that the UK will meet and even surpass its target, but only if the government addresses some expected roadblocks. Namely, ensuring widespread grid connections for battery systems, mitigating supply chain issues and developing a policy framework for pumped hydro projects.

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