Main Markets
The market for energy storage in the UK and worldwide is a rapidly changing one, with new technologies being developed and new applications being investigated on regular basis.
Energy storage technology holds the promise to provide many benefits across the energy delivery value chain—from generation to transmission and distribution (T&D) to end-users such as residential, commercial and industrial. (See figure 1 for an illustration).
Specifically, energy storage technology is considered a key component for integration of high levels of renewable energy penetration and as an essential tool for smart, future electricity grids.
In addition, a number of societal benefits, such as reducing emissions, serving as an alternative to a traditional generation plant, or acting as a tool for demand response, can be captured with the deployment of storage technologies.
Figure 1: Benefits of Energy Storage along the Electricity Value Chain
Energy storage has been a part of our electric energy system for decades but, newer energy storage technologies now in the early market adoption stages, such as lithium ion batteries, lithium titanate batteries, offer improved operational flexibility, improved charge/discharge cycle life, and in some cases longer duration or fast response capabilities.
