How to unlock 24x7 renewable energy: Invest in long duration energy storage

The full potential of renewable energy to fight climate change can only be realized if complemented with long duration energy storage (LDES) technologies. The storage of surplus renewable energy for multiple hours, days, or even weeks to meet on-demand energy requirements significantly reduces the stress on our power systems due to the intermittency of renewable energy.

According to a report by McKinsey, in the US alone, it’s estimated that LDES could reduce the overall cost of achieving a fully decarbonized power system by around USD 35 billion annually. For these reasons, the LDES market is projected to grow 400x by 2040 and will require a total investment of USD 1.5 trillion to 3 trillion.

However, lithium-ion batteries — the most commercialized energy storage technology in the market today — are not suitable for LDES applications due to their storage capacity and cost. Moreover, lithium-ion batteries are composed of rare-earth metals whose mining is environmentally-intensive and exposed to child labor risks.

We need alternative solutions to lithium-ion batteries to store renewable energy as it gains more share in the global energy mix. But how do we identify what are the right LDES technologies to invest in?

Click here to find out