Dear Colleague,
With so many different options of large-scale energy storage technologies to choose from, how do you pick the right one? On top of that, how do you decide on the most profitable business model to pair with the chosen tech?
Due to the increasing concerns about global warming and other environmental impacts of burning fossil fuels, engineers and policymakers are paying more attention to energy storage solutions than ever before. Apart from having the ability to address the intermittent supply of renewable energy, large scale energy storage assets can also provide a multitude of other uses including ancillary services such as frequency regulation and voltage control. Hence, the first step to any successful energy storage project is to figure out exactly what services you require your energy storage solutions to provide and which technologies are able to meet these requirements at the highest possible efficiency.
The Right Combination: Value Stack + Technology + Cost Efficiency = Maximum Profit
Once the necessary use cases of your energy storage assets have been decided upon, the next step would be to match the energy storage technology that will be able to perform the required tasks at the highest possible efficiency. Following this, an accurate costs analysis will need to be conducted which should take into account full life cycle costs including installation, operation, maintenance, decommissioning, disposal and/or recycling costs. On top of that, a precise value stack needs to be formulated in order to extract the most value out of the chosen energy storage technology.
Learn how to choose the correct stationary energy storage technology, balance all possible use cases with the rate of degradation to ensure the longest possible lifetime and maximise profitability of large scale energy storage projects at the upcoming 13th Energy Storage World Forum that will take place in Europe, 18-20 November. Topics that cover this include:
Why Are Lithium-Ion Batteries Still The Go-To Choice?
Despite the cost issues and challenges that lithium-ion batteries pose within stationary energy storage applications, we find that in every single one of our past 12 forums, lithium-ion batteries remained the most commercially viable energy storage option. This is largely due to the fact that research and development around this technology is being mainly driven by the electric vehicle (EV) market.
Compared to other battery options, lithium-ion batteries seem to have much higher energy densities and control a majority of the global grid side energy storage market. As you know, new innovations, such as replacing the graphite anode with new materials, can enhance the battery performance resulting in a much more competitive long-term storage option. How else can lithium ion batteries be made more competitive? What is the most cost effective way of doing this?
Concerns regarding the actual safety of lithium ion batteries have been brought up due to recent incidents of these batteries catching fire. Topics featured in our programme that could help clarify doubts in this area would be:
Alternative Storage Systems In The Market
However, other storage options with different advantages do exist in the market, such as lead-acid batteries and flow batteries. While less popular than lithium-ion batteries, flow batteries are being used in a number of energy storage projects due to their relatively low energy densities and long life cycles which makes them better-suited for supplying continuous power.
Hydrogen fuel cells which generate electricity by combining hydrogen and oxygen is another storage option with different but equally appealing characteristics; They are reliable, have high energy densities and release zero emissions which makes this technology perfect for long-term energy storage and sector coupling in the form of Power-to-X technology. Though they remain expensive, hydrogen fuel cells are being used as primary and backup power for many critical facilities like data centres. Continuous research and development around hydrogen storage will fuel further economic viability of this technology and with that, even more attractive business models.
Find out more about the potential of Power-to-X technologies through the following topics at the 13th Energy Storage World Forum this November:
Listen to the first-hand experience of energy storage technology end-users including utilities and independent power producers through more than 35 brand new researched topics and case studies combined with a variety of unique learning experiences that will help to actualise lessons learned.
Join us to gain an unbiased, holistic view of the latest developments in the energy storage industry. The Dufresne team and I are looking forward to meeting you in person this November!
Parveena Basheer
Conference Researcher
Dufresne
PS: Catch more than 25 end-users presenting at 2 conferences that will take place back-to-back over 5 days. Check out our early bird offer and save money when you register early!
If you want to know more about this and other topics directly from end users of energy storage technologies join us at one of these annual events: The Energy Storage World Forum (Grid Scale Applications), or The Residential Energy Storage Forum, or one of our Training Courses.
For more information c&i energy storage, please get in touch with us!