In Serbia, battery storage could improve the economics and CBAM readiness of renewable-energy projects by making low-carbon electricity more usable and predictable for exporters. It can help match renewable supply with factory consumption and cut reliance on high-carbon grid purchases during selected hours. However, storage does not itself reduce embedded emissions or qualify exporters for a CBAM exemption.
The EU’s definitive CBAM period began in 2026, making carbon costs more relevant to covered exporters. Steel, aluminium and cement producers may gain commercially from a cleaner, more manageable electricity procurement profile. Storage can strengthen energy management, but it does not replace the underlying emissions rules.
Electricity evidence remains essential
The compliance value of storage depends on the applicable CBAM methodology and the supporting evidence chain, not simply on battery ownership. Metering, contractual allocation, guarantees of origin where relevant, and data on electricity consumption that can be verified remain necessary to support claims about electricity use. A battery alone cannot establish how electricity should be treated under CBAM.
For exporters, the potential business case includes reducing exposure to volatile market purchases, capturing more renewable output and providing a more controlled electricity evidence package for carbon reporting. Storage can help determine when renewable power is used. The emissions treatment under CBAM still depends on the applicable methodology and documented evidence.
Market signals and the Nocaj project
Serbian renewable generation faces growing hourly price and capture risk, while industrial users continue to encounter expensive evening periods. In May 2026, SEEPEX recorded Serbia’s first day-ahead electricity price below zero, highlighting changes in the hourly price environment for both generation and consumption.
Solar-plus-storage projects can shift some renewable output toward factory demand and periods when grid electricity is more expensive. The Nocaj project illustrates this market direction, combining 270 MWp of solar capacity with 72 MWh of storage. Its battery is not large enough to make the solar plant fully firm.
However, the battery can improve output shaping and reduce imbalance in a bilateral supply arrangement. Its relevance to CBAM would depend on the applicable methodology and documented electricity evidence. The project’s storage capacity alone would not determine that treatment.
