Energy storage is essential to ensuring grid stability as demand grows for intermittent renewables, like solar PV. Different options are gaining traction, supported by international standards.
Energy supply security could hardly be a more pressing concern for nations everywhere right now. But even before the Iran war, the situation was becoming acute as more of the world’s energy generation shifts from fossil fuels to renewables.
Oil, natural gas and coal may be finite resources but they can be stored in their natural state while energy generated by solar and wind systems are infinite but require a long duration energy storage (LDES) solution to keep supply and demand in balance across the grid, as a result of their intermittency.
A world of renewables
The share of renewables in global electricity generation is expected to expand from 32% in 2024 to 43% by 2030, while the share of variable renewable energy (VRE) sources is set to almost double, reaching 28%, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). At the same time global electricity demand is on course to grow at least 2,5 times as fast as overall energy requirements through to 2030, by which time renewables and nuclear will generate half of all electricity supply.
