Who leads the world in energy storage?

In 2017, energy storage installations reached 2.3 GWh in 2017, but who is the main promoter of this technology?

Although renewable energy generation is presented as a future commitment for all countries that have signed the Paris treaties, there is a related technology that is taking its first steps towards becoming the one that will help renewables become the central pillar of future electricity generation. This is none other than energy storage technology. Which last year managed to reach the still incipient figure of 2.3 GWh installed worldwide.

Energy storage drives renewables

This technology is the key to eliminating the climatic dependence of renewables. And thus, storing excess energy generated during times of low demand. All with the aim of meeting those peaks in energy needs by consumers.

In short, energy storage can catapult renewable energies into a new scenario. In one where their dependence on the weather and the impossibility of controlling their generation during peak demand periods will finally be a thing of the past.

This is why, despite its implementation being still a minority, the technology still seems to be perfected. Some countries are seeing this technological revolution as an opportunity to alleviate their energy deficit.

The main market players

Ranking países almacenamiento de energía

Today we are going to analyze who are the main market players that are betting on Energy storage. Join us!

According to the energy and power grid consultancy GTM Research’s first report, “Global Energy Storage,” the major leaders in this emerging energy storage industry are the United States and Australia.

Both countries have opted for a model of large megaprojects. And they share a series of geographic and population characteristics that make this technology a solution for reaching isolated populations, especially in the case of Australia, where electricity is not always guaranteed.

Thus, Australia also shares the lead with Germany in the residential storage segment, which is still marginal in the United States.

The leader is the United States

The report highlights the efforts made by Australia. Which took first place in 2017, reaching 246 megawatts installed. This surpasses the United States, the leading researcher of this type of technology. This achievement is supported by megaprojects that the Oceanian country has undertaken this year. Such as the largest lithium battery in the world. Capable of storing electricity for 30,000 homes thanks to its 100 MW capacity. Despite these spectacular figures, it is the United States that leads the podium with 431 megawatt-hours deployed on the electricity grid last year. In second place would be Australia itself. Followed by Germany, China, and Japan.

In addition to these countries, the United Kingdom, Canada, South Korea, and India have a sizable energy storage industry, although far from the top spots.

And in the future? China is positioned as the market leader

While the United States and Australia currently hold the reins of the energy storage market, China, as expected, will set the pace for this sector in the future, as stated in the GTM Research report. Thus, the Asian country will go from leading several pilot projects to surpassing the rest of the countries in just five years.

By 2020, China and Japan are expected to surpass Australia to reach second and third place in the ranking, respectively. In this way, China, with a long history in the battery market, lays the groundwork for overtaking the United States in the sector in the 2020s, something that is predictable given the current efforts of the Asian economy to promote renewable energy technologies.