Envision Energy's Michael Koller emphasized that Europe's advancing grid-forming capabilities and long-duration energy storage (LDES) pilots are key to strengthening cross-border energy reliability as the integration of renewables intensifies pressures on existing market structures. Speaking in Munich at Intersolar Europe in March 2026, Koller noted that grid-forming storage systems support frequency and voltage stability in connected grids, while LDES pilots begin to address the challenges of multi-day variability during 'dunkelflaute'-extended periods of minimal wind and solar generation. He identified regulatory delays and fragmented permitting as significant barriers to scaling these technologies internationally.
Background
Europe's accelerated transition to renewable energy is heightening both technical and regulatory challenges for the power system. ENTSO-E's December 2025 policy paper identified regulatory uncertainty, insufficient locational signals, and short-term market structures as key obstacles to deploying large-scale storage solutions, including LDES, in EU markets. The report recommends reforms to capacity mechanisms and flexibility support tools to better reflect storage longevity and system needs. The European Commission's 2025 Grids Package further advocates for centralized, cross-border infrastructure planning to reduce renewable energy curtailment and improve grid security.
Details
At Intersolar Europe, Koller introduced Envision's grid-forming battery systems, launched during the event, including a 10 MVA medium-voltage station featuring a 5.05 MVA power-conversion system capable of 1.5 p.u. overload for 10 seconds. This design offers inertia and frequency support for weak grids. These systems represent a broader industry move toward grid-forming batteries as a solution for increasing renewable intermittency. Meanwhile, LDES pilots are expanding across Europe. A January 2026 Energy Storage Europe position paper cited four core barriers: planning models that overlook duration, market frameworks favoring short-duration assets, financing uncertainty, and permitting processes taking up to a decade. Research on cross-border weather disruptions, such as dunkelflaute, indicated that isolated events can increase system costs by about 9 percent, while continent-wide events may drive costs up by 51 percent, underscoring the need for coordinated LDES and transmission investment.
Outlook
Stakeholders await legislative updates to capacity market frameworks that would facilitate LDES deployment, including provisions for contracts beyond 100 hours and tailored approaches for long-duration assets. Koller and other industry figures anticipate that cross-border coordination under the EU Grids Package will accelerate pilot deployments and support market mechanisms that better reflect the value of grid-forming and long-duration storage technologies.
