Energy Storage And Battery

In the recent years, the industry has witnessed a paradigm shift towards the adoption of decarbonized energy systems. Countries worldwide are substantially inclining toward renewable energy sources from fossil fuel dependency. Energy storage systems (ESS) have witnessed a significant upsurge on account of shifting trends toward the adoption of renewable energy technologies coupled with growing need for efficient and affordable storage systems. Various energy storage technologies including pumped hydro, electro-chemical, electromechanical, thermal, among others have emerged as prominent sources for storing electric energy. Currently, pumped hydro is the dominant solution across the globe for energy storage. However, electro-chemical storage has witnessed a significant growth owing to the rising investments toward clean energy sources along with government subsidies and incentives for the adoption of renewables. Furthermore, supportive government initiatives toward installation of sustainable technologies, which include lithium-ion batteries and concentrated solar power has resulted in robust business growth.

There are several chemistries including lead acid, lithium-ion, sodium sulfur, flow batteries, and solid-state batteries, that are used in battery energy storage systems. Lithium-ion is currently one of the most commonly used batteries worldwide. The dominance of these batteries can be attributed to its high-energy density, which means a lithium-ion cell of a specific weight and size provides significantly higher energy when compared to other batteries of the same size or weight. In addition, growing need for energy efficient storage systems and safety concerns toward battery life has further provided impetus to adoption of different lithium-ion chemistries.

Drivers:

• Strict government regulations pertaining to decarbonization along with the adoption of energy-efficient sustainable technology.
• Growing inclination of the emerging economies toward the development of off grid infrastructure to cater to the green energy requirements.
• Declining costs of renewable sources including solar and wind energy are likely to ensure that the investments will continue to increase the share of renewables in the energy mix across the globe.
• Technological advancements have led to a considerable drop in component costs along with improved efficiency standards.
• Increasing concerns toward security of supply to cater to the increasing demand for electricity.