Companies in Spain and Portugal are investing heavily in battery backup systems following a widespread power failure on 28 April last year that caused significant disruption for several hours. This investment has been further spurred by recent incidents, including Storm Kristin in January, which cut power to hundreds of thousands in central Portugal.
Spanish meat processing firm Fribin, for example, incurred losses of hundreds of thousands of euros when its production lines halted during the 2025 blackout. Emergency systems lacked the capacity for continued operation, leading to the discarding of many tonnes of meat. Fribin has since invested approximately €1.5m in two five megawatt-hour battery modules, partly funded by the European Union's Next Generation funds.
According to Red Eléctrica, Spain's grid operator, the country's battery storage capacity has risen from about 28 MW before the blackout to 193 MW in April 2026, an almost sevenfold increase. Spain's Institute for the Diversification and Saving of Energy (IDAE) has also awarded €827m in EU funds to 133 energy storage projects, totalling 2,400 MW, with approximately 80% of this being battery storage.
Portuguese companies are also taking action. Vista Alegre, a porcelain maker, accelerated its installation of energy storage systems after the blackout caused irreparable losses at its continuous production plants. Primus Ceramics, which used a diesel generator during the outage, plans to more than double its battery capacity by the end of this year to store more energy from its solar panels.
Battery suppliers are observing increased demand and evolving customer requirements, with a focus on advanced capabilities like seamless backup for sensitive environments such as hospitals and data centres. Delivery times are also critical due to tight deadlines linked to EU funding programmes.