Economic assessment of battery energy storage in industrial applications: Policy support and self-consumption effects

Industrial companies play a key role in sustainable development, given their significant impact on energy consumption and emissions, which affect the climate. In this context, the integration of battery energy storage (BES) with photovoltaic (PV) systems represents a strategic solution for strengthening energy independence. This study evaluates the economic viability of a 1500 kWh BES integrated with a 1 MW PV system at a large pharmaceutical plant in central Italy, using net present value (NPV). Several scenarios are evaluated, considering BES costs, self-consumption levels, market conditions and policy frameworks with and without capital grants. The results show that the profitability of BES is strongly influenced by the simultaneous alignment of three factors: public support, containment of investment costs and significant enhancement of self-consumption. In the absence of incentives, NPV is negative in all the scenarios analysed; on the contrary, with capital grants, the investment becomes economically sustainable only under particularly favourable conditions, characterised by low CAPEX, high energy purchase prices and significant increases in self-consumption. The break-even point of the increase in self-consumption gradually decreases as the policy framework and market conditions change: from 44% in the scenario without capital grants to 37% with a capital contribution and 31% in the case of a more favourable energy purchase price. Monte Carlo simulation confirms that the increase in self-consumption has a greater impact on profitability than an equivalent reduction in investment costs, highlighting the key role of demand management strategies in supporting the industrial energy transition. • Optimised consumption profiles limit the incremental benefits of storage • The increase of self-consumption is the key driver of BES cost-effectiveness • Reduced spreads between purchase and sale prices penalise BES cost-effectiveness • Incentives stabilise the profitability of BES against price volatility • PV+BES strengthens energy independence and industrial resilience