Energy storage capacity additions to double this year in solar-style ramp up – IHS Markit

Marianne Boust, principal analyst, IHS Markit, said: “Energy storage is set to grow as fast as solar PV energy has in recent years." Credit: IHS
Energy storage capacity additions will double worldwide to 2.9GWh this year, up from 1.4GWh in 2015, according to the latest report from analyst firm IHS Markit.

Storage capacity will also rise to 21GWh by 2025, said the report ‘Grid-Connected Energy Storage Forecast Database’.

Lithium-ion technology will dominate the sector with more than 80% of energy storage systems to include it by 2025.

The US and Japan are ahead of the pack for energy storage, generating a third of market revenues totalling US$50 billion over the next decade. However, there is also strong movement in South Africa, Kenya, the Philippines and other countries, while the cost of batteries continues to decline.

In Australia and Japan, energy storage penetration is expected to account for more than 5% of installed power capacity in 2025. IHS Markit said such penetration will demonstrate the role of energy storage in grid stability, renewable integration and overall energy management.

Half of the installations globally in the next ten years will be behind-the-meter, with consumers looking to optimise their self-consumption of energy and benefit from backup power. Meanwhile, a total of eight countries including Japan, China and the US, will have cumulative behind-the-meter storage capacity of more than 1GWh.

Marianne Boust, principal analyst, IHS Markit, said: “Energy storage is set to grow as fast as solar PV energy has in recent years, sparking strong interest from a wide range of players and underscored by recent mergers and acquisitions among car manufacturers, major oil and gas companies, and conventional power suppliers.

“Looking to the future, half of all energy storage will come from households and businesses seeking to control their energy consumption, which will massively disrupt the traditional business models from established utilities and large equipment manufacturers.”

Last week a new report by US analyst GTM Research found that the German energy storage market will be worth US$1.03 billion by 2021, representing an 11-fold jump on its 2015 market value in megawatt terms.