German industry group BVES’ guiding energy storage to be ‘fourth pillar of energy transition’

January 30, 2020
LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email
Grid-scale ESS in Bordesholm, Germany, which this year is going to use the system – and related assets – to go 100% renewable. Image: SMA.

There could be energy storage should be the vital fourth “pillar” of the energy transition, a private members’ and stakeholders’ meeting by Bundersverband Energiespeicher (BVES), an energy storage trade association representing companies across Germany, heard.

Valeska Gottke, communications and markets representative for BVES, told Energy-Storage.news that the overall strategy and concept are still going through further development, refinement and discussion and will likely not be published in full until after the Energy Storage Europe trade event taking place in Dusseldorf, Germany, in mid-march.

Nonetheless, Gottke said, it was clear to attendees at the BVES ‘conclave’ event that the energy storage industry should have a “natural interest in applying energy storage systems to receive energy [reliably] from climate-friendly sources”.

It should also be recognised that as a set of technologies that can aid with and enable system-wide integration of resources, energy storage systems (ESS) are “‘connectors that bring flexibility to every system,” Gottke said.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

BVES said that at the moment there are 10 guiding principles it and its members consider that could or should help integrate energy storage as the “fourth pillar” of the energy transition (known in Germany as ‘Energiewende’). The other three pillars are the production, consumption and transport of energy.

Germany’s energy system in 2030 should be “decarbonised, safe and secure”, BVES said in its statement on those 10 principles, which the group said it will publish in due course as work continues to strategise their implementation.

This article has been amended from its original form: Energy-Storage.news published the list in error and would like readers to consider that they were a reference of a work in progress rather than meant for publication. We would like to apologise for any misunderstanding. The headline has also been amended to dispell any ambiguity: BVES is not a state-owned enterprise as may have been misinterpreted by readers from the prior wording.

24 February 2026
InterContinental London - The O2, London, UK
This isn’t just another summit – it’s our biggest and most exhilarating Summit yet! Picture this: immersive workshop spaces where ideas come to life, dedicated industry working groups igniting innovation, live podcasts sparking lively discussions, hard-hitting keynotes that will leave you inspired, and an abundance of networking opportunities that will take your connections to new heights!

Read Next

November 25, 2025
There is a “healthy pipeline of projects in development” across Europe’s energy storage sector, but the technologies are as yet “significantly underutilised” below their potential.
November 25, 2025
A week of claimed first-of-their-kind advances in Germany’s BESS market, including the combination of monitoring, diagnostics and energy trading on one platform, an optimisation deal allowing multiple companies to trade one asset, and a law change accelerating permitting.
Premium
November 24, 2025
The low prices and strict operational requirements in Italy’s recent MACSE auction for BESS have brought asset management and operational execution into the spotlight.
November 21, 2025
In a major week for European BESS deal-making, project acquisition and financing deals have been done in the Poland, Germany, Finland, the UK and Romania for grid-scale projects totalling well over 1GW of capacity.
November 20, 2025
We hear from the co-founder and CEO of optimiser Suena Energy Dr. Lennard Wilkening about the evolution of BESS asset management in Europe, including the impact of artificial intelligence (AI).