Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES) must scale up to 50 times faster than is currently projected, per the 2024 Annual Report by the LDES Council.

According to the report, LDES solutions of more than 1 TW and up to 8 TW are needed by 2030 and 2040, respectively, on a global scale to achieve the net zero emissions target. However, LDES solutions of only about 120 GW have been installed to date, and an additional  113 GW are planned with a projected capacity of 222 GW by 2035.

The LDES Council recommends setting a global storage target of 1.5 TW by 2030 to support the COP28 goal of deploying 11 TW renewables by the same year.

The manufacturing sector causes global carbon emissions, and the electricity sector accounts for 28%. As per the report, LDES can improve energy supply security, reduce wasted renewable energy, curtail mining activities, and unlock new possibilities that short-term storage only partially addresses.

LDES  also enables renewables integration on electricity grids and maximizes energy utilization, including providing round-the-clock heat for industrial applications and producing alternative fuels like hydrogen from electricity.

The report states that India needs 170 GW of low LDES and 260 GW of high LDES by 2050.

Need for action

In the report, the council calls for faster LDES deployment, procurement, and supportive policies to promote and accelerate existing technologies that deliver immediate and enduring benefits to electricity grids and end users.

LDES Council members have established projects with eight hours or more storage durations on six continents. The council called for all nationally determined contributions to be updated in 2025 to include clear and actionable targets.

Funding

According to the report, funding for LDES solutions increased in 2023, with roughly 70% of investments comprising grants and seed funding. These projects are driven by new decarbonization initiatives by national and regional governments and the sustainability commitments by large corporations, including approximately two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies.

The report estimates that the buildout of up to 8 TW of LDES solutions by 2040 will represent a $4 trillion investment opportunity that could deliver as much as $540 billion in annual system cost savings.

Large-scale deployment

The LDES Council has identified seven enablers for large-scale LDES deployment in the report—raising awareness, assessing need, setting LDES targets, allocating pre-commercial funding, providing market access and long-term revenue visibility, implementing efficient grid pricing, and enabling ease of connection.

The council calls for an increase in government efforts to deploy and scale LDES technology to meet growing energy demands, emphasizing procurement targets in New South Wales and Victoria in Australia, New York, and California in the U.S., Chile, and Italy.

The report states that advancing policy-enabling strategies and setting a specific target for energy storage deployment at COP29 will provide the needed clarity, direction, and accountability for policymakers, industry, investors, and stakeholders to advance LDES deployment.

Corporate funding for energy storage rose 15% YoY in the first nine months of 2024, while it decreased 33% for smart grids in the U.S., according to the 9 M and Q3 2024 Funding and M&A for Storage and Grid Report by Mercom Capital Group.

According to a Mercom report, the commercial viability and widespread adoption of energy storage solutions can address key issues in clean energy deployment, including grid safety and intermittency, while leveraging the vast potential of various energy storage forms.