Long Duration Energy Storage LDES Reality: Materials, Equipment Markets in 35 Lines, Technology Roadmaps, Manufacturers, Winners, Losers, Alternatives 2024-2044

LDES Market Insights: Winners, Losers, and a $10 Billion Business Blueprint for Investors and Industry Players

At last, a report estimating what will happen with LDES not what special interest groups want to happen. A report that estimates winners and losers when research groups and trade associations must back their members. Such independent information is essential to those seeking to invest in LDES, supply materials, devices or otherwise participate in the LDES supply chain. Yes, this report even takes a close look at your value-added materials opportunities. Uniquely, it surfaces alternatives and impediments to LDES and all on the 20-year timescale necessary to really understand where we are headed. Alternatives include less-intermittent forms of solar and wave power, arriving tidal stream and other green generation with no long duration intermittency and grids spanning weather and time zones but there is more. This data-driven analysis still comes up with a large figure for the LDES market. It has the detail and information to correctly position your creation of a $10 billion LDES business, avoiding the traps, knowing the lessons of past failures. The author has already created several successful businesses and he has a Physics PhD in the subject.

The Executive summary and conclusions at 40 pages is sufficient in itself, giving definitions, background, success so far, infograms, technology and market roadmaps and 35 forecasts 2024-2044. Absorb lessons from recent investment in the LDES companies, technology toolkit, different needs for grid vs beyond-grid, gaps in the market, even projected technology and company winners and losers on current evidence.

The introduction, at 49 pages, gives the background including the solar and beyond-grid megatrends, many LDES alternatives that will limit, not eliminate the opportunity. Indeed, learn why these realistic LDES forecasts will make stationary storage become a larger value market that mobile storage. Understand Levelised Cost of Storage LCOS and many time-related parameters for storage. Here are the LDES alternatives in detail with appraisal.

The 18 pages of Chapter 2 “LDES design principles, parameter comparisons, trends and materials” open with the very different needs of grid and beyond grid LDES then it presents graphics describing how the technology options compare in appropriate graphed parameters. For example, the first three graphics present 12 LDES technology choices compared in 7 columns, nine primary LDES technology families, vs 17 other criteria then detailed progress competing for increasing LDES duration by technology. It ends with graphics analysing membrane materials and needs for many forms of LDES such as advanced conventional construction and redox flow batteries plus hydrogen fuel cells and electrolysers.

The rest of the report consists of drill-down chapters with many SWOT appraisals on each LDES technology in alphabetical order starting with 133 pages of Chapter 4, “Batteries for LDES: Redox flow batteries RFB”. Technologies of the different chemistries and structures are explained with pros and cons including regular vs hybrid and the different chemistries. 56 RFB companies are compared in 8 columns: name, brand, technology, tech. readiness, beyond grid focus, LDES focus, comment the see profiles of 48 RFB manufacturers and putative manufacturers followed by research pipeline analysis.

The 51 pages of Chapter 5, “Batteries for LDES: Advanced conventional construction batteries ACCB”

use many graphics to present such things as a parameter appraisal of ACCB for LDES then seven ACCB manufacturers compared in 8 columns: name, brand, technology, tech. readiness, focus, LDES focus, comment. Subsections dive into iron-air: Form Energy USA with SWOT appraisal, molten calcium antimony: Ambri USA with SWOT appraisal, nickel hydrogen: EnerVenue USA with SWOT, sodium-ion with limited LDES potential, Sodium sulfur: NGK/ BASF Japan/ Germany and others with SWOT, zinc-air: eZinc Canada with SWOT, zinc halide EOS Energy Enterprises USA with SWOT.

Chapter 6. “Compressed air CAES” (51 pages) covers the basics, including physics, the global situation, activities of 13 key players, analysis of the research pipeline and ending with a SWOT. Then Chapter 7. “Chemical intermediary hydrogen, ammonia, methane LDES” (28 pages) explains this world of massive inefficiency but massive potential storage capacity under-ground. Hydrogen is compared to methane and ammonia for LDES delayed electricity and proposed hydrogen economy is compared to pure electrification. The sweet spot for chemical intermediary LDES is estimated but you are warned about calculating success based on dubious assumptions. Learn how mining giants prudently back many options but, for buildings, all chemical options are unimpressive. See technologies for hydrogen storage, hydrogen interconnectors for electrical energy transmission and storage and a review of 15 projects that use hydrogen for energy storage in a power system. The chapter ends with a parameter appraisal of hydrogen storage for LDES and SWOT appraisal of hydrogen, methane, ammonia for LDES.

Chapter 8. “Liquefied gas energy storage: Liquid air LAES or CO2” (23 pages) explains these intriguing options for grid storage without the massive earthworks of hydro, compressed air or hydrogen. Understand their higher energy density but often higher LCOS than CAES, hybrid LAES, parameter appraisal of LAES for LDES and scope for increasing the LAES storage time and discharge duration. Six company activities assessed, the research pipeline and two SWOT appraisals end this chapter.

Chapter 9. “Pumped hydro: conventional PHES and advanced APHES” (38 pages) is the world where about 95% of grid storage is of this type and maybe 99% of the electricity stored. Although some meets an LDES specification, it has been rarely used for this but now things change. Environmental objections and other siting limitations drive the need for advanced forms, mainly out of sight and not needing mountains, so more widely deployable. Learn conventional pumped hydro PHES with projects and intentions across the world, the economics, parameter appraisal and see a SWOT appraisal of PHES but more detailed is the analysis of advanced pumped hydro APHES. That means pressurised underground by Quidnet Energy USA, sea floor StEnSea Germany and Ocean Grazer Netherlands compared to other underwater LDES, brine in salt caverns Cavern Energy USA, mine storage Sweden, liquid heavier than concrete invisibly-pumped up mere hills by RheEnergise UK. There is a SWOT appraisal of APHES.

The 25 pages of Chapter 10. “Solid gravity energy storage SGES” cover the one with no self-leakage even for seasonal storage but many moving parts. See the overview and the IIASA, Austria proposal in 2023, the parameter appraisal of SGES for LDES, activity of four companies then SWOT appraisal. Much space is given to leaders Energy Vault with giant partners and huge units proceeding in China initially for short-term storage and Gravitricity, using mines in partnership with ABB and others.

The report closes by assessing the technology that has suffered the most exits. Deserving only 14 pages, Chapter 11. “Thermal energy storage for delayed electricity ETES” contrasts the great success of delayed heat with the inefficiency and limited parameters of thermally-delayed electricity. There is a parameter appraisal of ETES for LDES, the successful special case of molten salt storage for concentrated solar and the lessons of failure of Azelio Sweden, Siemens Gamesa Germany and Stiesdal Denmark. Learn why Antora USA and Malta Inc Germany hope to succeed by using different approaches and see a SWOT appraisal of ETES for LDES.

Report Data

• 17-parameter technology appraisals: 6
• Chapters: 11
• SWOT appraisals: 20 
• Key conclusions: 22
• Forecast lines 2024-2044: 35
• Companies: 104
• New infograms: 143