Nrel large-scale battery energy storage cost forecast

Does NREL have a long-term battery energy storage system?

The US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has updated its long-term battery energy storage system (BESS) costs through to 2050.

Will NREL's battery energy storage system cost halve in 2050?

Image: NREL. The US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has updated its long-term lithium-ion battery energy storage system (BESS) costs through to 2050, with costs potentially halving over this decade.

What are base year costs for utility-scale battery energy storage systems?

Base year costs for utility-scale battery energy storage systems (BESSs) are based on a bottom-up cost model using the data and methodology for utility-scale BESS in (Ramasamy et al., 2023). The bottom-up BESS model accounts for major components, including the LIB pack, the inverter, and the balance of system (BOS) needed for the installation.

Are electric vehicle battery projections based on NREL projections?

In 2016, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) published a set of cost projections for utility-scale lithium-ion batteries (Cole et al. 2016). Those 2016 projections relied heavily on electric vehicle battery projections because utility-scale battery projections were largely unavailable for durations longer than 30 minutes.

Are battery storage costs based on long-term planning models?

Battery storage costs have evolved rapidly over the past several years, necessitating an update to storage cost projections used in long-term planning models and other activities. This work documents the development of these projections, which are based on recent publications of storage costs.

How are battery storage cost projections developed?

The projections are developed from an analysis of recent publications that include utility-scale storage costs. The suite of publications demonstrates wide variation in projected cost reductions for battery storage over time. We use the recent publications to create low, mid, and high cost projections.