A catastrophic power cut across Spain and Portugal in April 2025 left both countries in darkness for hours, causing widespread disruption and heavy financial losses for businesses. The blackout exposed how vulnerable firms have become after switching from fossil fuels to electricity for industrial processes, and it has since pushed many companies to invest heavily in battery storage systems to protect against future outages, with a further storm in January 2026 adding urgency to the shift.

Spanish meat processor Fribin lost hundreds of thousands of euros in wasted stock during the blackout and has since spent around €1.5m on battery modules, partly funded by EU Next Generation funds. More broadly, Spain's battery storage capacity has grown almost sevenfold since the blackout, from about 28MW to 193MW by April 2026, while the IDAE has awarded €827m to 133 storage projects totalling 2,400MW, roughly 80% of it batteries. Suppliers such as Sungrow report rising demand and customers increasingly seeking "seamless" instant backup, particularly for sensitive sites like hospitals and data centres.