Firms scramble for battery power in Spain and Portugal
After last year's massive power failure Spanish and Portuguese firms are buying battery back ups.
On April 28th, Portugal and Spain faced a significant power outage that left many businesses in chaos. Faced with the sudden shutdown, Fribin, a Spanish meat processing firm, halted production lines, resulting in the discarding of hundreds of thousands of euros worth of meat. The company realized they needed a better backup plan, leading to the investment of €1.5m in battery storage systems in 2025 and 2026.
Across Europe, firms are increasingly shifting to electricity from fossil fuels, but this has also made them more susceptible to power cuts. In response, companies are investing in battery storage systems to prevent disruptions. Spain's battery storage capacity has surged from 28 MW to 193 MW since April 2025, with the IDAE allocating €827m to energy storage projects.
Vista Alegre, Portugal's largest porcelain maker, installed energy storage systems in 2022, capitalizing on EU funds. Companies, including Primus Ceramics, are also installing batteries to back up their energy supply and sell excess electricity back to the grid.
Written by urgent.news from BBC Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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