United Kingdom – Long Duration Electricity Storage (LDES) may play a critical role in the UK energy system, according to a new report from Aurora Energy Research.
There must be a stable supply of electricity for the UK’s Net Zero strategy to succeed by 2035. Without urgent investment in low-carbon alternatives, Aurora’s report concludes that this target is unachievable based on the current availability of gas-fired generation.
Increased use of renewables, improved system stability and resilience can be achieved through the use of flexible but reliable LDES capacity. This technology is capable of adjusting supply and demand in response to daily peaks, seasonal patterns as well as weather conditions. Pumped hydro storage, Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES), Flow batteries, and Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) are all examples of LDES (CAES).
Full LDES value
Using Aurora’s report, the GB energy system is shown to benefit from LDES by reducing emissions, costs, and dependence on gas. High upfront costs, long lead times, a lack of revenue certainty and a lack of market signals are all contributing to underinvestment in LDES. For LDES projects to be successful, policy and market reforms are needed to ensure revenue certainty and address the lack of markets to recognize the full value of LDES.
A consortium of public and private sector organizations commissioned the study, titled “Long duration electricity storage in GB.”
