Switzerland sees battery boom as homes and firms store more solar power

The Migros supermarket branch in Schlieren-Rietbach, near Zurich, is powered by a rooftop photovoltaic system and a large battery storage installation. Keystone / Gaetan Bally

A rapid but mostly invisible energy transformation is taking place in Switzerland: households and businesses are installing batteries at record pace, rising roughly 400% over the past four years.

The trend shows no signs of slowing. According to Swissolar, the solar industry association, battery deployment is accelerating sharply. Its Battery Monitor Switzerland 2026External link is the first comprehensive study to quantify how many storage units are now in use across the country.

In Switzerland, growth in so-called behind-the-metre storage –installed directly at households, agricultural, or commercial businesses – has increased by 400% in four years as the graphic below shows.

At the same time, large grid-connected (front-of-the-metre) storage facilities are gaining importance, according to Swissolar. Several companies in the electricity sector have announced the construction of more than 4GWh of additional capacity by 2030, 30 times the currently installed capacity. These large batteries not only store energy but also contribute to the stability of the electricity system, notably by providing system services such as balancing energy.

Globally, the market is also showing strong growth. In the European Union, approximately 27.1 GWh of new battery storage capacity was installed in 2025, a 45% increase compared to the previous year.

Stored energy at home for cooking, charging…

On sunny days, rooftop solar installations on homes increasingly produce more electricity than households can immediately consume. This is where batteries come in, explains Matthias Egli, director of Swissolar.

“At midday, more electricity is produced than I can use, even when I’m cooking. At that point, the surplus goes straight into the battery,” he says.

The stored energy can then be tapped in the evening – after sunset – for cooking, charging an electric car or watching television.

Today, pairing new solar installations with a battery has become “practically standard,” Egli adds. Most battery storage units are about the size of a large cardboard box.

Batteries ease the burden on the grid

Swissolar’s study estimates that the batteries installed in Switzerland last year could theoretically supply 1.5 million households with electricity for two hours. With many more new batteries expected this year, that capacity could rise to 2.5 million households.

A key driver of this boom is falling prices. Batteries have become significantly cheaper and are now within reach for many private homeowners. As a result, households can consume a greater share of the electricity they produce themselves.

Falling prices make battery storage a winning solution

Battery storage technology, much like solar panels, has undergone rapid cost reductions in the last decade. The average price of lithium-ion battery packsExternal link dropped to $115/kWh in 2024, a 20% cost reduction from the year before and 84% lower than the average cost a decade ago. As the price has fallen, annual installations of battery storage capacity have increased dramatically at an average rate of 67% per year globally over the last decade. In all, 69 GW of battery storage capacity was installed in 2024External link – almost enough to double total battery storage capacity, which stood at 86 GW in 2023External link.

The 20% fall in battery pack costs in 2024 marks the largest percentage reduction in cost in a single year since 2017, and the largest absolute reduction since 2019. These cost reductions have been driven by economies of scale as manufacturing capacity has stepped up, and by increased adoption of lower-cost battery chemistries such as lithium iron phosphate (LFP), which eliminates the need for nickel and cobalt. Material costs have also come down after a brief surge in lithium prices in 2022.

Source: Ember Global Electricity Review 2025

This development ultimately benefits the entire power system, Egli says.

“This has a very positive effect on grid load. We can connect more installations to the same grid without having to expand it expensively,” says the Swissolar director.

But as more solar systems are connected, critics argue this will require major investment to expand the grid and cope with fluctuating output.

Egli insists that batteries help smooth these peaks, reducing the strain on the grid and lowering the costs of stabilising it.

Short‑term storage becomes more important

Swissgrid, Switzerland’s national electricity infrastructure operator, and numerous energy suppliers share this assessment. They see batteries as a key element of the country’s future electricity system.

But, unlike dam reservoirs, batteries cannot store surplus summer electricity for use in winter – the period when Switzerland typically produces too little electricity. Yet their significance in winter is growing, Egli argues.

Batteries provide short‑term storage that is an “huge relief” for the grid, even during the colder months, he says.

“And so we need less hydropower even in winter,” says Egli. On sunny days, solar energy can be stored and used later, reducing the need to draw down water reserves.

Adapted from German with AI/sb and additional input/amva

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