Brussels cleared Germany to shut batteries out of 11 GW gas tenders, ministry briefing shows
A German economy ministry briefing confirms the European Commission approved rules that block storage from the planned capacity auctions, steering the subsidies to gas plants.
The European Commission gave Germany a green light last year to write its planned 11 GW capacity tenders in a way that effectively bars battery storage from bidding, favouring gas-fired plants, according to a German economy ministry briefing reported by Montel on Friday (2026-07-10). Documents cited in the briefing reference up to 5 GW.6
The tilt shapes the biggest piece of Berlin's post-coal capacity plan. The German cabinet approved the 11 GW gas-plant legislation on Wednesday (2026-05-13), a measure that still needed parliamentary approval on a short timeframe. Steering the auctions toward thermal capacity rather than storage decides which technology captures the subsidies.5
That design already looked exposed. A draft of the power plant law could face legal challenges from companies that judged their technologies disadvantaged, market experts said in the week of 2026-05-18.2 Battery and electrolyser developers are the obvious complainants, and the ministry briefing now confirms the exclusion was deliberate and cleared in Brussels.6
German power is trading into a system already running tight. ICE German baseload front-month was at €104.64/MWh on Friday (2026-07-10), up 1.92% on the day. [Live Prices] Germany's power margin was set to fall in the week of 2026-05-18 to its lowest level of the winter as low wind and colder weather strained the grid, according to models compiled by Bloomberg.4
The generation push runs alongside direct relief for industry. The Commission approved Germany's plan to provide up to EUR 3.8bn to lower electricity costs for energy-intensive companies over three years on Thursday (2026-05-21).1 Both measures point the same way: keep industrial power costs contained while new dispatchable supply is procured.1
The bet on gas is a bet on fuel Germany will have to buy into a tightening global market. India's peak power demand hit an all-time high of 257 GW, with coal covering upwards of 75% during peak load, and Russian coal imports jumped 95% in the first quarter as New Delhi favoured cheaper domestic supply.3 South Korea scrapped the spring cap that had held coal plants to 80% of capacity and lifted nuclear utilisation to as much as 80% to pre-empt supply risks.3
European gas gave little away. ICE Endex TTF front-month was near €48.57/MWh on Friday (2026-07-10), little changed on the day. [Live Prices] The tenders will take years to deliver, and the near-term risk is whether storage firms challenge rules the ministry has now confirmed were built to exclude them.6