By 2030, cumulative energy storage installations globally (excluding pumped hydro) will exceed one terawatt-hour (TWh).
The majority of this will be from lithium-ion batteries, as per recent forecasts.
BloombergNEF: Projects that by 2030, the global cumulative capacity will be 1,877GWh with an output of 650GW.
DNV: Expects lithium-ion battery storage to touch 1.6TWh by 2030. By 2050, lithium-ion installations are predicted to reach 22TWh,
with the bulk being combined with utility-scale solar PV. Long-duration energy storage (LDES) technologies are set to account for around
1.4TWh by 2050. DNV also observes that lithium-ion is on the cusp of innovation and forecasts its cost to drop below US$200/kWh
by 2030 and even further to about US$130/kWh by 2050.
Market Changes: The purpose of energy storage is gradually shifting. While initial focus was on high power applications like frequency
regulation, the trend now is leaning towards high energy applications needing longer durations of storage. This change is noticeable
in major energy storage markets like California, the UK, and Texas.
Annual Growth: In 2023, the energy storage sector is projected to grow by 34% compared to 2022. BloombergNEF predicts that energy
storage deployments in 2023 will reach 42GW/99GWh, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 27% until 2030.
Regional Outlook: By 2030, the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region is expected to lead in energy storage, contributing to 47% of all new installations. The Europe,
Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region will account for 24%, and the Americas will represent 18%. China's policy reforms and energy
storage goals are significant drivers for APAC's dominant share.
Additional Notes: Despite the potential of LDES, its future remains uncertain, as highlighted by BloombergNEF. On the other hand,
DNV sees potential in vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) for 8-24 hour applications.
Upcoming Event: The 10th Solar and Storage Finance USA conference will be held from 7-8 November 2023 in New York, covering
various topics in the energy sector.