Between 25 GW and 35 GW of Long Life Energy Storage (LDES) will be installed globally by 2025, according to a report released by LDES Council, a newly created body launched at COP26 in Glasgow.
The analysis, conducted on behalf of the Council by consultant McKinsey, finds that the lowest-cost path to zero-impact energy will be the implementation of LDES technology. A technology that includes liquid air, compressed air, thermal and based on gravity, as well as new battery chemicals (like iron-air), alongside lithium-ion and hydrogen turbines.
Implementing these new long-term energy storage technologies would require the installation of 1,5-2,5 terawatts / 85-140 TWh of long-term storage by 2040. In a nutshell, 10% of all global electricity, the report says called “Net zero power: long-duration energy storage for a renewable grid".
Massive effort but possible
A capacity of this scale (which is four to seven times the current global energy storage installation) requires investment estimated at $ 1,5-3 trillion, states the Council. This is an insane figure, but it corresponds to how much is invested in the electricity transmission grids every 2-4 years. Huge effort, in short, but also a great investment. And above all possible investment.
Long-duration energy storage is generally defined as any technology capable of producing stored energy at full capacity for more than four hours, the typical storage duration for lithium-ion batteries. These solutions, some of which can store energy for weeks or months, are considered essential to balancing the future electricity grid based on renewable energy. They are what will give us energy even when the wind doesn't blow and the sun doesn't shine for long periods of time (and at night).
Accumulation of energy, a highway
Currently, the "no" moments of renewables are made up for with so-called gas-fueled "peaker plants" (also known as Peaker Gas). Some say they will be power plants powered by hydrogen to replace them. However, the power conversion in that case results in energy losses of about 70%, far superior to energy storage technologies, with high costs. This is why hydrogen may never see a boom.
“We must take responsibility for the choice. Zero impact requires a large increase in grid-scale energy storage to incorporate renewable resources (which are more intermittent) into our energy mix.” This is what he claims Adam Briggs, chief commercial officer of Ambri, a company among the members of the LDES Council.
Do we need funds (also public?)
This is the part of the report that I like least: “LDES technologies would benefit from government support to get to market as quickly as the energy transition requires. Short-term financing for these energy storage technologies is a long-term investment that will pay off in the form of low-cost power and environmental benefits. "
Why do I like this part that “takes on public money” less? I'll tell you right away. Among the 25 founding members of the LDES Council (which provides help and advice to governments and bodies for decarbonisation) there are 16 technology companies, but also giants such as British Petroleum and Siemens Energy. I appreciate the estimates and I share the intentions, but this must be a way to guarantee a "comfortable transition" for the planet, not for companies that used hydrocarbons and delayed their abandonment as much as possible.
