The Long Duration Energy Storage Council (LDES Council) and nine other cleantech and energy storage organisations have urged the European Commission to recognise long-duration energy storage (LDES) as a strategic asset for Europe’s industrial competitiveness, energy security and clean energy transition.

The request was made through a joint letter addressed to European Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jørgensen and Executive Vice-Presidents Teresa Ribera and Stéphane Séjourné. The signatories called on the Commission to ensure that LDES is fully reflected in upcoming EU initiatives, including the Electrification Action Plan.

The letter was signed by LDES Council, Cleantech for Europe, Cleantech for Iberia, Cleantech for Italy, Energy Storage Europe, Energy Tag, Future Cleantech Architects (FCA), Flow Batteries Europe, the International Hydropower Association (IHA), and Tech For Net Zero.

LDES seen as critical for electrification

The organisations argue that Europe’s accelerating electrification of industry, transport, heating, cooling and digital infrastructure will require significantly greater system flexibility. In this context, they highlight the role of LDES technologies, which can store and dispatch electricity for eight hours or longer, providing flexibility over periods ranging from hours and days to weeks and even seasons.

According to the letter, long-duration storage can reduce reliance on fossil-fuel backup generation, improve the utilisation of domestic renewable energy resources and strengthen the resilience of Europe’s power system. The signatories therefore argue that LDES should be treated as strategic infrastructure within the EU’s energy framework.

Four actions proposed

The organisations outlined four recommendations for the European Commission.

First, they call for the explicit recognition of LDES within the forthcoming Electrification Action Plan and the EU’s evolving energy security framework.

Second, they propose the development of a dedicated EU roadmap for long-duration energy storage, assessing flexibility needs for 2030, 2040 and 2050 while identifying priority applications, investment requirements and deployment barriers.

Third, they urge the creation of lead markets for LDES in sectors and regions where it can deliver immediate value, including energy-intensive industries, data centres, critical infrastructure, islands, remote areas and renewable-rich regions.

Finally, they call for mechanisms that improve revenue certainty and bankability for projects, such as cap-and-floor schemes, availability-based contracts and duration-specific capacity products.

Industrial opportunity for Europe

Beyond its contribution to energy system reliability, the signatories describe LDES as a major industrial opportunity for Europe. They note that many LDES companies, manufacturing capabilities and supply chains are already established across the continent, meaning stronger policy support could reinforce Europe’s strategic autonomy and clean technology competitiveness.

Julia Souder, Chief Executive Officer of the LDES Council, said long-duration energy storage will be essential for supporting Europe’s clean energy transition and strengthening energy security as electrification accelerates.  “Long Duration Energy Storage is essential to Europe’s clean energy transition, energy security and industrial competitiveness. As electrification accelerates, Europe will need technologies that can store clean power for hours, days, weeks and longer. By recognising LDES as a strategic asset, the EU can lower system costs, strengthen resilience and ensure that the next generation of clean energy value chains scales in Europe.”

According to Souder, recognising LDES as a strategic asset would help lower system costs, improve resilience and ensure that future clean energy value chains scale within Europe.