Russia’s energy storage system (ESS) market is forecast to reach $3 billion by 2025 as production costs fall during the next five years, predicts the country’s Ministry of Energy.
However, neither lithium-ion nor lead-acid was included in an approved state program that will run until 2025 for the development of ESSs in Russia.
Among the ‘post lithium’ technologies spoken about were: metal-air, flow batteries, gravitational, and hydrogen.
Development of the country’s ESS market has reportedly stalled due to the high cost of lithium-ion systems, estimated at $0.4 per kWh, several times higher than its production cost of $0.05-0.07.
“Although most of the potential customers are aware of their advantages ESS are rarely used at Russian enterprises and are primarily a short-period reserve,” Russian Minister of Energy Alexander Novak told the state-owned TV channel Russia 1 on 3 September.
To stimulate the market, pilot projects such as isolated energy systems, electric vehicles and mobile energy sources are being deployed in the country.
Initially, these projects will use imported batteries while Russia develops its own technology to replace them during the second stage of development between 2022-2025.
The Kremlin has plans to ensure that 4.5% of the country’s power supply is from renewable sources by 2024, which in real terms equals around 5.5GW of renewables capacity.
