Graph of the Day: Untapped potential of energy storage

energy storage

These graphs of the day come courtesy of our friends from Cleantechnica. It comes from an article about a new developer of energy storage devices, Eos Energy, that claims it can deliver stored energy for as cheap as $160/kWh, which would be something a game changer for the industry. Cleantechnica covers this in full, as well as news that it has signed a contract with Con Edison.

What struck us was the collection of graphs that told the story about the energy storage industry in the world, or rather the lack of it. Here’s the first graph, pointing out, as the headline suggests, that the world’s largest supply chain has no storage.

energy storage

Here is a graph showing where that (limited) capacity exists – almost all of it in pumped hydro, virtually nothing in other forms.

energy storage

 

And here is the graph for the potential market size. Like solar PV, it will go from nothing to very big, in a very short period of time. That’s why it’s the next big thing in energy markets.

energy storage

Comments

3 responses to “Graph of the Day: Untapped potential of energy storage”

  1. Zvyozdochka Avatar

    In the libertarian denier anti-science world, WASTING energy is some sort of imaginary-friend (God) derived human-right. Why would you store it when you could waste it.

  2. Professor Ray Wills Avatar

    Hmm – don’t believe the numbers above. Looking for the source it seems the EOS data reported is actually ‘recycled’ from a December 2011 white paper found here:
    http://www.iec.ch
    http://www.iec.ch/whitepaper/pdf/iecWP-energystorage-LR-en.pdf
    So it seems they are two years old, and probably actually not accurate for December 2011!

    First does EV storage count? Back of the envelope – someone check my maths, its late!

    50000 Nissan Leafs on the road with 24kWh/90 kW Li ion battery = 4500 MW

    Now > 5 million Toyota hybrids (incl Lexus) and rough estimate av 4 kW batteries nickel metal hydride = 20 000 MW

    ok – even without EV storage market – or perhaps the possibility of some error above on my part:

    BYD alone now has a range of storage and installed a 100 MWh Fe phosphate storage in China last year

    According to BYD company data, BYD manufactured 100 MW storage in 2010, 600 MW storage in 2011, and 1200 MW storage in 2012.

  3. Bob_Wallace Avatar
    Bob_Wallace

    If Eos can deliver <$0.03/kWh storage then the amount of storage on the grid will start to change. Up to now storage has been too expensive and dispatchable natural gas too cheap.

    If we can store late night <5c wind-electricity and deliver it in the midday peak storage will quickly grow. Or perhaps that's the morning/afternoon remaining peaks once solar eats away the midday peak as has happened in Germany.

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