The German energy storage industry’s turnover has reached €5bn, up 9% on 2017, according to figures released by national trade body BVES.
The association said the industry also grew by 9% in terms of people employed, now standing at 12,100.
The BVES presented its figures at the trade fair Energy Storage Europe in Dusseldorf.
BVES general manager Urban Windelen (pictured, right) said: “The German storage industry has a technological lead over international competitors in terms of innovative storage systems across sectoral boundaries and is in principle excellently positioned for the future requirements of the energy system.”
However, he said the continued lack of regulatory framework in Germany is ‘causing concern’, pointing out that foreign markets are increasingly driving demand growth.
According to the BVES industrial energy storage systems are being used for applications in Germany, including peak load, uninterruptible power and emergency power as well as optimising self-supply of renewables.
The association also highlighted the use of energy storage with charging infrastructure for e-mobility as a growth area.
Thermal storage is also on the rise, said Windelen, with innovative technical solutions developing rapidly and the number of suppliers in the sector rising.