Elia's capacity auctions: four-hour batteries take 61.75% of Belgium's 2030-31 volume
Victoria Shinder1 min readElia Transmission Belgium has published the results of three auctions in the country's capacity remuneration mechanism (CRM), covering the delivery periods 2027-28, 2028-29 and 2030-31. The CRM pays market participants for keeping capacity available and was introduced alongside Belgium's partial nuclear phase-out. In all three auctions supply exceeded demand.
For 2027-28, a total of 6.5 GW has now been contracted across the CRM rounds at a total cost of around €200 million and a weighted average price of €30.944 per MW per year. The Y-1 top-up auction contracted nothing: under the scenario set by the energy minister, after cross-border contributions and capacity that is available but not bidding, the required volume fell to zero.
The Y-2 auction contracted 1.6 GW for 2028-29, bringing the total secured for that year to 5.8 GW. New batteries made up around 0.5 GW of it. Four-hour batteries took 31.74% of the selected volume, second only to combined-cycle gas turbines, while two-hour batteries took 5.98%. The round cost around €34 million at a weighted average of €21.643/MW/year.
The Y-4 auction contracted 0.8 GW for 2030-31, for a total of 4.9 GW secured including earlier long-term contracts. Again about 0.5 GW was new batteries, but no two-hour batteries were selected and four-hour batteries accounted for 61.75% of the volume. Supply exceeded demand by 3.1 GW, and the round cost around €14 million at €18.143/MW/year.
What it means
The prices fall from year to year while the battery share rises, and the auction is selecting duration: two-hour systems are being squeezed out in favour of four-hour ones. For developers in Belgium, the bankable product is now a longer battery, not just a cheaper one.