The world’s energy systems are not decarbonising quickly enough to meet global sustainability commitments, and immediate action must be taken to rapidly deploy long-duration energy storage (LDES) technologies to efficiently integrate the growing amount of renewable energy now coming online, according to a new report.
The inaugural Annual Report from the Long Duration Energy Storage Council calls for LDES to scale from the current 0.22 TW (terawatt) deployment pipeline up to an 8 TW target by 2040, a 50X scaling from today’s pace that will be needed to support market development for LDES solutions and the decarbonization of global energy systems. To enable this growth, the LDES Council is advocating for a dedicated energy storage target pledge of 1.5 TW by 2030 to be set at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29).
At COP28 last year, nearly 200 countries committed to a global renewable capacity target of 11 TW by 2030, tripling today’s installed capacity. To accommodate the variability of renewable energy from wind and solar, energy systems must store excess energy and heat during peak generation and release it during high demand. This flexibility is vital for maintaining grid stability, reducing costs, supporting industry, utilizing infrastructure more efficiently and providing benefits to communities.
An energy storage target is required to enable the rapid, continued growth of variable renewables and support the 11 TW goal, keeping the global energy transition on track and the Paris Agreement commitments to limit the effects of climate change in sight.
“We will not achieve our decarbonisation targets without LDES,” Julia Souder, chief executive officer of the LDES Council, said. “By providing flexible and reliable services LDES technologies are critical enablers to decarbonise power and heat systems. Accepting the energy storage target at COP29 is essential to accelerate all types of LDES deployments.”
LDES technologies provide a range of benefits
Long-duration energy storage encompasses technologies that store energy in various forms – including electrochemical, mechanical, thermal and chemical – with a discharge duration of eight hours or more. These resources hold energy or heat for extended periods, ranging from hours to days, weeks or even seasons.
The benefits of scaling LDES are vast. Beyond enabling the integration of higher shares of renewables, LDES reduces energy system costs by lowering curtailment, deferring grid investments, improving capacity and enhancing grid resilience. Additionally, widespread deployment of LDES contributes to improving global health by reducing hazardous air pollution and fosters economic growth through the creation of new skilled jobs. The LDES Council estimates the buildout of up to 8 TW of LDES solutions by 2040 represents a $4 trillion investment opportunity that could deliver as much as $540 billion in system cost savings annually.
Several countries have a near-term target to achieve more than 50% of their electricity generation from variable renewable energy (VRE) and need LDES to support an efficient, reliable grid. The International Energy Agency expects by 2028, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom will generate at least 50% of their electricity from VRE., These countries – and others, including the United States – aim to have net-zero power systems by 2035, further amplifying the need for LDES.
