Battery energy storage cost per kilowatt-hour

Are battery energy storage systems worth the cost?

Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are becoming essential in the shift towards renewable energy, providing solutions for grid stability, energy management, and power quality. However, understanding the costs associated with BESS is critical for anyone considering this technology, whether for a home, business, or utility scale.

How much does a 4 hour battery system cost?

Figure ES-2 shows the overall capital cost for a 4-hour battery system based on those projections, with storage costs of $245/kWh, $326/kWh, and $403/kWh in 2030 and $159/kWh, $226/kWh, and $348/kWh in 2050.

Why do we use units of $/kWh?

We use the units of $/kWh because that is the most common way that battery system costs have been expressed in published material to date. The $/kWh costs we report can be converted to $/kW costs simply by multiplying by the duration (e.g., a $300/kWh, 4-hour battery would have a power capacity cost of $1200/kW).

Does battery cost scale with energy capacity?

However, not all components of the battery system cost scale directly with the energy capacity (i.e., kWh) of the system (Ramasamy et al. 2022). For example, the inverter costs scale according to the power capacity (i.e., kW) of the system, and some cost components such as the developer costs can scale with both power and energy.

How much does a lithium ion battery cost?

The price of a lithium-ion battery pack dropped to 139 U.S. dollars per kilowatt-hour in 2023, down from over 160 dollars per kilowatt-hour a year earlier.

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.