A significant blackout struck Spain and Portugal on 28 April last year, causing widespread disruptions across multiple industrial sectors. Meat processing company Fribin in Aragon experienced production halts and substantial losses when their emergency systems proved inadequate, particularly affecting refrigeration operations. The outage resulted in hundreds of thousands of euros in losses for the company and prompted leadership to reconsider long-standing hesitations about battery backup investment.
Following the blackout, industrial facilities across both countries began prioritizing energy storage solutions. Fribin purchased its first five megawatt-hour battery module in June 2025, with a second identical module ordered in early June 2026, representing approximately €1.5 million in total investment supported partly by European Union funding. The surge in battery adoption reflects broader trends as European industries transition from fossil fuels to electricity for operations, a shift subsidized by EU programs aimed at reducing emissions but creating new vulnerabilities to power disruptions.
Spain’s battery storage capacity expanded dramatically following the outage, rising nearly sevenfold from 28 megawatts before the blackout to 193 megawatts by April 2026. Significant additional capacity remains in development, with Spain’s energy diversification institute awarding €827 million in EU funds to 133 storage projects totaling 2,400 megawatts. Battery suppliers report evolving customer demands, with industrial clients increasingly seeking advanced capabilities such as instantaneous switching between grid and backup power, particularly critical for sensitive facilities like hospitals and data centres.
Other events reinforced momentum for storage investments. A winter storm toppled thousands of electricity poles across central Portugal, cutting power for extended periods and further demonstrating infrastructure vulnerabilities. Portuguese firms including Vista Alegre, the nation’s largest porcelain manufacturer, and Primus Ceramics expanded or initiated battery storage installations. These companies benefited from EU recovery funding and reported the blackout experience accelerated their implementation timelines, with some systems also generating revenue through electricity sales back to networks during favorable market conditions.
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