January 5, 2026: The capacity of large-scale battery storage systems in Germany increased by 60% during 2025, according to data from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems.

The institute said on January 1 that capacity rose from 2.3GWh to 3.7GWh over the course of the year.

A total of just under 25GWh of battery storage capacity is installed, with the majority (just under 20GWh) being home storage systems, Fraunhofer said.

However, the institute said its own modelling indicates a battery storage requirement of 100GWh-170GWh will be needed by 2030.

Leonhard Gandhi, energy charts project manager at Fraunhofer ISE, said: “The ramp-up of large-scale battery storage is fundamentally changing the way the German electricity system works.”

While effects on short-term flexibility provision are already visible, systemic impacts, such as reserve power plants, can only be estimated at this stage, Gandhi said. These developments require battery storage to be explicitly considered for expansion planning, system planning, and electricity market design.

The growing importance of BESS facilities in Germany was highlighted as the institute said the share of renewables in the country’s net public electricity generation amounted to 56%.

Wind power took first place as the strongest net electricity producer, followed by photovoltaics, which increased its production by 21% in 2025 and overtook coal for the first time.

Analysis was based on Fraunhofer ISE’s energy-charts.info data platform, which provides interactive graphs on electricity generation for the whole of Europe.

In December, Batteries International reported calls from utility industry leaders for new regulations in Germany to ensure soaring applications for new BESS projects can be processed efficiently to boost national energy security.

The German Association of Energy and Water Industries said then that applications for large-scale BESS facilities stood at a total capacity of more than 720GW.