A new era for energy sto­rage: The sto­rage defi­ni­tion comes into effect

Ins­tead of pre­sen­ting energy sto­rage sys­tems as con­su­mers and gene­ra­tors, the focus has shifted to their ability to post­pone the ulti­mate use of energy. As before, BVES expressly wel­co­mes the inclu­sion of this defi­ni­tion in the EnWG. This defi­ni­tion in accordance with EU law pro­vi­des the oppor­tu­nity to create a secure legal frame­work for the sto­rage and use of energy and sup­ports busi­ness models based on energy sto­rage.

In order to estab­lish the prac­ti­cal use of the defi­ni­tion and fur­ther legal con­se­quen­ces, fur­ther adjus­t­ments and a clear legal clas­si­fi­ca­tion on the part of the legis­la­tor are neces­sary. A legal defi­ni­tion of “energy sto­rage”, as it alre­ady exists in EU law and takes the sto­rage pro­cess into account, is curr­ently still miss­ing in Ger­man law. Fur­ther­more, the wor­ding “in an elec­tri­city net­work” should be repla­ced by a more gene­ral wor­ding that is also sui­ta­ble for other sec­tors, namely elec­tri­city and heat. Curr­ently, a dis­cus­sion is under­way regar­ding tail­o­red defi­ni­ti­ons for spe­ci­fic sto­rage solu­ti­ons that fall under the term “power-to‑X”. In this con­text, it is important to ensure the cohe­rence of sto­rage solu­ti­ons and to prio­ri­tize the free­dom of appli­ca­tion and the user-fri­end­li­ness of energy and sto­rage solu­ti­ons.

The new defi­ni­tion marks a his­to­ric moment for energy sto­rage, espe­ci­ally since a new sto­rage stra­tegy is being worked on in par­al­lel at the Fede­ral Minis­try of Eco­no­mics and Cli­mate Pro­tec­tion. BVES is actively enga­ged in the pro­cess and main­ta­ins a close exch­ange with poli­ti­cal decis­ion-makers and other rele­vant bodies to deve­lop prac­ti­cal solu­ti­ons and pro­po­sals.