EDF announces the Electricity Storage Plan to become the leader in Europe by 2035

• Further storage capacity of 10GW representing investment of €8 billion
• Doubling the investment in Research and Development

In a changing energy landscape, EDF is ramping up its efforts to develop electricity storage solutions and become the European leader in this field. Storage has a critical role to play in the energy transition, alongside energy efficiency, nuclear and renewables. A pioneer in this area, the Group is already involved in the main storage technology applications, including batteries and Pumped-Storage Hydroelectricity.

Becoming the European leader in this field

EDF’s goal is to develop 10GW of additional storage around the world by 2035, on top of the 5GW already operated by the Group. This acceleration represents an investment of €8 billion during the 2018-2035 period.

EDF’s ambitions are focused on all electricity storage markets to help ensure the smooth running of a balanced electricity system, for residential customers, businesses and countries. More specifically, the Group is keen to become the leader in the residential sector in France and Europe with its range of self-consumption services incorporating batteries. Africa is also a priority market for the Group, whose goal is to develop a portfolio of 1.2 million off-grid customers (without access to electricity) by 2035, through local partnerships.

New projects delivered within the next twelve months

• The launch of at least three battery projects to improve the performance and balance of the power system.
• The extension of our services offering access to electricity via solar panels and batteries to Ghana, after the success enjoyed in Côte d’Ivoire (15,000 installations so far).

Boosting the Group’s strengths

Faced with the rapid development of storage technology, EDF is also increasing its Research and Development capabilities and its capacity of innovation in this field. Investment in research into storage for the power system will double, reaching €70 million for the 2018-2020 period. Alongside this, EDF Nouveaux Business will be allocating €15 million in the next two years – a third of its investments – to projects and start-ups linked to electricity storage and flexibility.

Jean-Bernard Lévy, EDF’s CEO and Chairman, explains: “Electricity storage technologies have a potential to radically change the energy sector. EDF’s Electricity Storage Plan is based on the expertise coming from all entities within our Group and 25 years of investment in R&D. The new limit the Group is setting is a 100% carbon-free power system by 2050. By its scale, the Electricity Storage Plan, like the Solar Plan, confirms EDF’s ability to enable a competitive ecosystem in order to make our carbon-free future a reality.”