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- Cost of lithium-ion battery to drop 68% from 2020 to 2050
- Germany, France plan to spend 428m euros on related projects
Battery storage projects are becoming more competitive in relation to new power lines due to falling battery costs. Energy storage projects that provide transmission and distribution services will amount to a $277 billion market between 2020 and 2050, BloombergNEF estimates.
Batteries can mitigate grid congestion and defer the need for new power lines. While grid costs are rising or remain flat, the cost of a four-hour duration lithium-ion battery system is expected to drop by 68% to $104 per kilowatt-hour by 2050, from $320 per kWh in 2020.
Grid operators are already proposing battery alternatives. Germany plans to spend 348 million euros on its Netzbooster project and France plans to spend 80 million euros ($419 million) on Project RINGO.
Using batteries for network support is still nascent. It could take two decades for the market to develop to $10 billion per year. To accelerate growth, the storage industry needs regulatory structures that clarify who can own energy storage systems and reward network owners for reducing capex.
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