Introduction to the energy storage field

What is energy storage?

Watch the Stanford course lecture. Find out where to explore beyond our site. Energy storage allows energy to be saved for use at a later time. Energy can be stored in many forms, including chemical (piles of coal or biomass), potential (pumped hydropower), and electrochemical (battery).

Why do we need energy storage systems?

Energy storage systems help to bridge the gap between power generation and demand and are useful for systems with high variability or generation-demand mismatch.

Are energy storage systems a key enabling technology for renewable power generation?

Energy storage systems that can operate over minute by minute, hourly, weekly, and even seasonal timescales have the capability to fully combat renewable resource variability and are a key enabling technology for deep penetration of renewable power generation.

Are energy storage systems scalable?

Many mature and emerging energy storage technologies utilize combinations of thermal, mechanical, and chemical energy to meet storage demands over a variety of conditions. These systems offer the potential for better scalability than electrochemical batteries.

Are energy storage systems commercially viable?

Another important point is that the commercial viability of an energy storage system is typically a function of both performance and cost, i.e., a lower-cost system may be viable even with reduced performance or vice versa. Table 1. Performance and cost metrics for energy storage systems.

When was energy storage first used?

The earliest grid-scale energy storage technology is pumped hydroelectric storage, introduced to the grid in the 1930s. Significant capacity growth has continued since, and pumped hydro is still the dominant technology in energy storage on a capacity basis.