For a while there's been a lot of concern about Europe being left behind when it comes to battery developments and you could argue that is still the case when it comes to EV Gigafactories, but it seems that for ESS this might not be the case anymore. 

This latest EMMES research has shown European ESS deployments reached over 10GW in 2023 whereas the US's total capacity was 8.7GW (Wood Mackenzie).

This is certainly encouraging and it mirrors what I've been hearing amongst my client base and the discussions at the recent Energy Storage Summit in London, where new country markets were evolving (Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Greece, Poland etc).

The total numbers are intriguing but the finer details are important to note too. The bulk of the US deployments were front-of-the-meter grid-scale ESS whereas in Europe the majority of deployments fell into behind-the-meter Residential (for the most part) and Commercial & Industrial installations (just 2.8GW of Ftm Grid-Scale projects).

This shows a healthy appetite for ESS adoption amongst consumers and public and private business customers in European Union countries but also that Utility-scale BESS deployments still have some way to go, from the brag-a-watts in planning phase to actual shovel in the ground BESS projects. 

Where do you see European and US deployments heading in 2024?

I lead the Energy Storage & Grid practice at Hyperion Executive Search and help many clients across Europe hire great talent, but also enter new emerging markets like the USA. If you're looking to build your team and need expert support, I'd love to discuss how we can support your growth. Contact me at david.beeston@hyperionsearch.com