Assessing the role of electricity storage in EU28 until 2050

The linear optimization bottom-up technology model JRC-EU-TIMES is used to assess the cost-effectiveness of electricity storage technologies in the EU28 energy system. The model represents the EU28 energy system from 2005 to 2050, where each country is one region. We model five scenarios, one of which is the "reference" and four decarbonized scenarios that include the 20-20-20 policy targets and a CO2 reduction of 40% and 85% below 1990 values in 2030 and 2050 respectively. The introduction of a CO2 cap leads in 2050 to a 25-50% share of total electricity that is variable. Up to 20% of this renewable variable electricity is stored in batteries and CAES storage technologies.