How to reduce the price of energy storage

How to improve energy storage technologies?

Traditional ways to improve storage technologies are to reduce their costs; however, the cheapest energy storage is not always the most valuable in energy systems. Modern techno-economical evaluation methods try to address the cost and value situation but do not judge the competitiveness of multiple technologies simultaneously.

Is cheapest energy storage a good investment?

In most energy systems models, reliability and sustainability are forced by constraints, and if energy demand is exogenous, this leaves cost as the main metric for economic value. Traditional ways to improve storage technologies are to reduce their costs; however, the cheapest energy storage is not always the most valuable in energy systems.

What is the cost analysis of energy storage?

We categorise the cost analysis of energy storage into two groups based on the methodology used: while one solely estimates the cost of storage components or systems, the other additionally considers the charging cost, such as the levelised cost approaches.

How can electricity storage cost-of-service be reduced?

In the meantime, lower installed costs, longer lifetimes, increased numbers of cycles and improved performance will further drive down the cost of stored electricity services. IRENA has developed a spreadsheet-based “Electricity Storage Cost-of-Service Tool” available for download.

How does energy store cost affect efficiencies?

For example, an energy store only clearly improves if the cost reduces at least for one component such as charger, store or discharger, while the other component costs and efficiencies are not negatively influenced.

What are the levelised cost approaches for energy storage?

The levelised cost approaches for energy storage include metrics such as the levelised cost of storage when electricity is discharged (LCOS) and LCOH or LCOM when hydrogen or methane are discharged, respectively [ 12, 22 ]. All the levelised cost metrics above are similarly structured.