A council has been formed by 25 technology companies, users and investors to push the deployment of long-duration energy storage systems to aid the transition to a grid net-zero by 2040.
The Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES) Council will lobby governments and grid operators, and publish a report with the aim of enabling the global deployment of 85-140TWh of eight hour+ storage technologies by 2040.
The launch of the LDES council was announced on 4 November at COP26 in Scotland.
The council is technology agnostic, and will push solutions including mechanical (such as pumped hydro); electrochemical (such as batteries, that store energy in flow, metal-air or hybrid systems); chemical (such as synthetic gasses); and thermal (such as molten salt).
The LDES council is a CEO-led organisation and includes founder members: BP, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, ESS Inc., Form Energy and Siemens Energy.
The organisation comprises technology providers, equipment providers, renewable energy companies, utilities, grid operators, investors, and end-customers.
First report
On 23 November, the LDES council will publish its first annual report on the need for long duration energy storage to reach NetZero carbon emissions.
The report, based on research and collaboration of council members, is expected to say that 1.5-2.5TW/ 85-140TWh of LDES could be deployed globally by 2040, but would require between $1.5 and three trillion in investment.
While supporting the deployment of long duration energy storage, the LDES Council is independent of any specific technology and its members span the spectrum of innovation from low-cost flow batteries to compressed gas solutions to mechanical energy storage.
Through its research and communications, the LDES Council will also provide guidance to governments and grid operators on the appropriate solutions for specific applications.
