Outlook for the Global Energy Storage Industry, 2020

The United States and China Continue to be the Key Energy Storage Markets, Supported by Strong Regulations, Legislative Policies, and Incentives

Energy storage is gaining importance with increasing demand for energy in residential and industrial applications. With growing data consumption and a proliferation of cloud services, the demand for energy increases proportionately. Energy storage is a viable solution to utilize renewable energy and an attractive option for implementing clean energy sources. Key countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Germany, Japan, South Korea, India, and the UAE have set a target to achieve significant power generation through clean energy sources. Most governments have come up with supportive legislative policies, regulations, and incentives that drive energy storage installations.

The overall global energy storage was at 4.2GW in 2019. It would be witnessing a steady, strong growth in 2020 as well, with an estimated capacity of above 6GW. Among the different types of solutions, Battery Energy Storage Solution (BESS) is a strong segment, along with the Thermal Energy Storage (TES) system. Within BESS, lithium-ion (Li-ion) is the most widely used storage solution, followed by flow batteries and sodium-sulfur (NaS) batteries. South Korea was the global leader in energy storage solutions in 2018. However, in 2019, the United States surpassed South Korea and became the global market leader. Growth in 2020 will be largely determined by the demand in the United States, China, and South Korea followed by other key countries such as Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany, India, and UAE. Among end-user categories, residential-scale storage is witnessing significant growth, exceeding commercial and utility, while utility-scale storage is also gaining momentum alongside commercial/industrial applications. Residential scale storage is predominantly dependent on BESS, while commercial and utility-scale storage uses both BESS and other alternative storage solutions.

Steady price decline of Li-ion batteries is an important factor that drives the demand for residential energy storage systems, along with the concept of solar + storage, where solar panels installed at residential dwellings prefer to have a storage unit as well for use during peak hours of the day and during peak summer and winter when the grid lines could not cater to the surging energy demand.

This study focuses on and/or provides:

• The key technologies contributing to energy storage
• The role of compressed-air energy storage (CAES) and supercapacitors in the energy storage market
• Supportive legislation, policies, and incentives driving energy storage installations in key countries
• Detailed analysis of alternative energy storage solutions
• Detailed forecasts for BESS and the role of Li-ion chemistry
• Technology lifecycle of the different technologies involved in the energy storage market