Recording of Tuesday, June 18, 2024 | The smarter E Europe 2024 | Conference Program | Language: English | Duration: 56:02 .
The discussion focuses on the potential and current status of long-duration energy storage (LDES) solutions, which are crucial for supporting renewable energy sources. Despite significant policy support across various jurisdictions and ongoing deployment projects, S&P's forecasts do not categorize storage beyond eight hours until 2030, indicating a lack of immediate recognition by investors with shorter horizons. Jan highlights real-world use cases like Hy-Vee Power in the UK, which supports wind power critical to Manchester’s grid through bespoke services from National Grid. Another promising application is off-grid scenarios such as islands or mining operations that aim to reduce carbon emissions heavily reliant on fossil fuels. Mining companies invest in renewables paired with batteries transitioning toward longer durations for nighttime energy needs. This approach already shows cost-saving benefits, as demonstrated by an Australian gold mine report. Existing thermal plants provide practical examples in Germany involving fertilizer and potato processing industries utilizing heat and storage systems operational for over a year. These underscore LDES's feasibility today rather than waiting till 2030 due to rapid cost reductions similar to lithium-ion batteries and solar technologies. Various global case studies illustrate LDES adoption: Amsterdam airport deploying zinc flow batteries replacing diesel generators; multiple off-grid agricultural initiatives in Africa enhancing sustainability through wind-powered desalination projects—the momentum emphasizing scaling up these efforts via increased awareness, financing incentives, and supportive policies addressing short-term market biases favoring four-hour battery thresholds essential for meeting future multi-day balancing demands driven by rising renewable integrations.
Automated summarization by AI Conver
Long-duration energy storage (LDES) is undoubtedly a key enabler for achieving net-zero. However, despite a wide range of technology providers claiming cost competitiveness and other advantages over lithium-ion batteries, the latter continue to dominate new deployments in Europe and elsewhere. So what's holding LDES back? What is needed to enable more widespread adoption? And when will the age of LDES finally arrive?In this panel, experts will provide an assessment of the suitability of LDES for today's market, the barriers that exist and the requirements and likely timeline for LDES to finally become mainstream.
Speaker
Dr. Oliver Schmidt
CEO
dvlp.energy
Germany
Speaker
Susan Taylor
Senior Analyst
S&P Global
Speaker
Julia Souder
CEO
LDES Council
Belgium
Speaker
Laurent Segalen
CEO
Megawatt-X
United Kingdom
Speaker
Wilhelm Löwenhielm
Senior Director ESS
Northvolt
Sweden
Speaker
Jan Andersson
Director, Global Market Development
Sumitomo SHi FW
Finland