Poland looks set to lead battery storage deployments in Eastern Europe, with 9GW of battery storage projects offered grid connections and 16GW registered for the ongoing capacity market auction.

The Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) energy storage market is in its infancy but has the potential to leapfrog more developed markets with Poland in a leading position, said executives from Fluence.

The CEE energy storage market holds much promise but grants and subsidies might be needed to get it off the ground.

UK-based investor Gore Street Capital has identified Poland, Hungary and Austria as markets of interest in the CEE region, investment principal John-Michael Cheshire told Energy-Storage.news in a Q&A.

The European Commission has approved a €1.1 billion (US$1.2 billion) scheme from the government of Hungary to support large-scale energy storage projects.

The Ministry of Energy in Hungary will provide grants for the deployment of energy storage projects, with some 1GWh targeted by 2025.

Invinity and BASF have announced the first deployments of their non-lithium battery storage tech in Hungary and Australia respectively.

Three Tesla Megapacks have arrived for installation at a power plant in Hungary, the first energy storage project in the country to use the EV giant’s grid-scale product.

AEG Power Solutions’ Convert SC Flex storage converters have been chosen for a smart grid project that will power sports facilities in the Hungarian city of Békéscsaba with green energy.

Battery manufacturer Saft has provided E.On with two nickel battery systems at one of its distribution substations in Hungary.