Permitting for battery electric storage systems, heat and hydrogen installation is getting a lot easier in Germany

A revision of the German Building Code is granting explicit permitting privileges to underground heat, hydrogen and battery electric storage (BESS) has just been cleared by the Bundestag. This should put an end to the laborious discussions about the admissibility of heat and hydrogen facilities, and in particular large battery storage facilities in areas where no specific zoning plan allows such installations. Discussions on whether a special zoning plan is necessary or not has so far unnecessarily delayed many approval processes.

Background

On 13 November 2025, the German Bundestag passed a draft bill to amend the Energy Industry Act (EnWG) and other laws (BT-Drs. 21/2793).

On the recommendation of the Parliament’s Committee on Economic Affairs and Energy, the bill also introduced energy storage facilities being considered privileged installations in so-called exterior areas (Außenbereich), i.e. areas without an existing zoning plan. Privileged projects do not require such a plan. This revision has been discussed in practice and demanded by operators.

Specifically, explicit privileges for underground heat, hydrogen and battery storage facilities are included in the catalog of Section 35 (1) of the BauGB (German Building Code). For electrical energy storage facilities, the privilege requires a minimum storage capacity of 1 MWh.

Until now, it has been controversial whether and under what conditions (battery) storage facilities can be covered by the existing privileges for supply and disposal facilities. In particular, the requirements for the characteristic of being "location-bound" (Ortsgebundenheit) were interpreted differently by the approval authorities. It was required that the project, according to its subject matter and nature, could only be operated at the location in question. Profitability reasons, on the other hand, were not considered sufficient.

The explicit permitting privilege for BESS is intended to ensure a "swift building planning procedure" to stabilize and relieve the electricity grid with the construction of large-scale battery storage facilities. In the opinion of the legislator, the construction and operation of large-scale battery storage facilities with a storage capacity of at least 1 MWh are, due to their size and nature, only possible in rural areas. This is because they require proximity to a substation and a high-voltage grid node. 

Outlook

Following the Federal Court of Justice's decision on construction cost subsidies, the amendment now passed by the Bundestag is an important step to create more certainty for large-scale battery storage projects. There also seems to be movement on the third major issue, grid connection, which affects more than just battery storage operators: In addition to the law just passed, the Bundestag also passed a resolution to present a draft regulation in the first quarter of 2026 that will fundamentally improve and digitise the grid connection process in the electricity grid for generation plants, consumers and storage facilities. This is intended to increase transparency and planning security and to resolve the backlog of connection requests, particularly from large battery storage facilities, industrial customers and data centres. After issuance of the FAQs of the Federal Network Agency, the legislator will also attempt to find a solution.

The draft law still has to be confirmed by the Bundesrat and is expected to come into force this year.