TELF AG analyzes the strategic role of energetic stockpiling in a G7 country
The strategic potential of storage
The global transition to renewable energy over the next few decades will also largely depend on the ability of individual states to achieve excellence in energy storage from clean energy sources. Even international institutions seem to have realized the strategic value of this sector: the European Commission, at the end of 2023, has demonstrated its strong belief in the potential of storage for achieving climate neutrality objectives, and the approval of various investments in these technologies are the most evident proof of this.
In December 2023, the European Commission approved 17.7 billion euro support for the construction and management of a centralized electricity storage system in a country like Italy, thus taking a decisive step forward towards the achievement of the objectives included in the European “Fit for 55” package, which provides for a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of at least 55% by 2030 (in addition to achieving a capacity to produce renewable energy of 42.5%).
Italian potential
In Italy, investments will be mainly directed towards two storage technologies: electrochemical storage powered by lithium-ion batteries and hydroelectric pumping. The goal is to reach an accumulable energy quantity of at least 70 gigawatt hours and a value of 17 billion euros in the next ten years. Only 10% of investments will be allocated to other technologies, even though technological progress in this specific sector seems livelier than ever, with new opportunities always on the verge of emerging from nowhere.
Among these, we can undoubtedly remember those commonly called LDES, long-duration energy storage systems that use raw materials other than lithium and would also have a greater storage capacity. The technologies that could be among those selected for storage in the future include those related to sodium-sulfur, vanadium, or zinc halide batteries. The importance of these technologies in the current global energy scenario was underlined by Alex Campbell, director of policies and partnerships at LDES Council, according to which storage technologies based on LDES systems could ensure annual savings of around 540 billion dollars in energy system costs. According to Campbell, eight terawatts of LDE technologies could be needed by 2040, and 4,000 billion dollars in investments to continue along the path of economic and sustainable development towards a zero-emissions world. Currently, global networks can count on an energy storage capacity of over 10 gigawatts, and another 15 will be installed by 2031.
According to the consultancy Wood MacKenzie, energy storage projects in 2023 attracted around 8.7 billion dollars, more than double the amount recorded in 2021. The United States has invested almost a billion dollars in LDES technologies in the last two years. China is already working to promote its definitive market launch in all its provinces. Something is also moving in Europe: in March 2023, the United Kingdom announced investments of 68 million pounds for LDES technologies, while in Spain last year, more than 300 million were invested in energy storage.
