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Spain battery storage jumps sevenfold after April blackout

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Spain battery storage jumps sevenfold after April blackout

2026-08-25 23:09 UTCBy AlphaScala Research DeskSource reporting: bbc.co.ukEditorial standards

Spain battery storage jumps sevenfold after April blackout

Spain's battery storage capacity hit 193 MW by April 2026, a sevenfold jump from before the blackout, as firms invest in backup to avoid production losses and tap EU funds.

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A massive power failure that plunged Spain and Portugal into darkness for hours on 28 April 2025 has set off a scramble for battery backup that is reshaping the Iberian energy storage market.

Spanish battery capacity has surged to 193 MW as of April 2026, nearly seven times the 28 MW registered before the blackout, according to Red Eléctrica, the grid operator. The growth marks one of the fastest industrial storage build-outs in Europe.

For companies like Fribin, a meat processor in Binéfar, the blackout was a tipping point. The sudden shutdown halted production lines and forced the company to discard tonnes of meat in processing. Losses ran into "hundreds of thousands of euros," Andrés Altabás, the firm's technology and systems director, told the BBC.

Fribin had weighed a battery backup system for years but balked at the cost. The blackout changed the math. The company bought its first 5 MWh module in June 2025 and ordered a second in early June 2026, for a total investment of about €1.5 million, partly funded by EU Next Generation funds.

The decision reflects a broader shift. European Union subsidies for electrification have cut emissions but also tied production to the grid, making firms more exposed to power cuts. The blackout, followed by Storm Kristin in January 2026 that left hundreds of thousands without power in Portugal for weeks, accelerated investment.

Miguel Matias, founder of the Portuguese energy services company Self Energy, said the industrial sector has been among the first to adopt storage because even a brief interruption can damage machinery.

In Spain, the pace of installation is accelerating. Red Eléctrica's data shows the 193 MW of battery capacity registered in April 2026 is more than six times the level a year earlier. The government, through the IDAE, awarded €827 million in EU funds in December 2025 to 133 storage projects totaling 2,400 MW. Roughly 80% of that capacity will be battery storage, nearly ten times the current grid-registered amount.

Alberto Bodegas, from battery supplier Sungrow, said demand is rising and customers are demanding seamless backup that switches from grid to storage without interruption. Delivery times are also tightening, as buyers rush to meet EU funding deadlines.

Portugal's Vista Alegre, the country's oldest porcelain maker, installed energy storage in 2022 but the blackout "served, above all, to accelerate this process," said Emília Encarnação of Vista Alegre. The company's facilities in Ílhavo now have about 2 MWh of storage capacity. The blackout caused "irreparable losses" at continuous-production plants, she said.

Primus Ceramics, near Aveiro, relied on a diesel generator during the blackout to keep roller kilns running and minimize losses. The narrow escape sped up plans to add battery capacity. By the end of 2026 the company will more than double its storage to capture more energy from solar panels, CEO Paulo Almeida said.

"We were at it until eight, nine at night, deciding whether we should stop, whether we should lower the furnace temperatures," Almeida told the BBC. The power returned before the furnaces needed to be shut, but the experience pushed Primus to invest.

The wave of deployment is also creating a secondary revenue stream. Companies that install batteries can sell stored energy back to the grid when market conditions are favorable, a revenue source that helps offset the upfront cost.

For Sungrow's Bodegas, the surge in demand is matched by a shift in customer requirements. Commercial and industrial clients once wanted basic backup; now they want systems that can handle sensitive loads, hospitals, data centers, without any flicker. The technology is moving faster than the funding deadlines, he said.