Isra-Mart srl:Renewables set to drive €10bn electricity storage market

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The global growth in renewable energy capacity looks set to spawn a €10bn (£8.4bn) annual market for batteries and electricity storage technologies by 2020, according to a new report by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

The study calculates that when more than a fifth of electricity generation comes from intermittent sources such as wind and solar power, a balance of up to 40 per cent of the average grid load will be required to even out fluctuations in renewable energy supply.

Storage technologies such as pumped hydro, compressed air storage devices and, eventually, hydrogen storage systems are expected to play a key role in balancing energy supply and demand, prompting BCG to predict the market will leap from €1bn today to €6bn a year by 2015, before topping €10bn in 2020.

However, investment in the sector will have to continue to expand if countries are to successfully deliver low-carbon energy infrastructures.

"In addition to currently available capacity of about 100GW, there will be a global market potential of 330GW in various storage technologies up to 2030," an abstract of the BCG study said. "This necessitates an additional cumulative investment need of €280bn [to 2030]."

Despite this high level of capital outlay, the report predicted financial returns for developers were possible even without subsidies. Purchasing and storing power during low price periods and releasing it in times of high demand would add to the financial opportunities for those who moved into the market quickly, the report said.

Germany, the US, China and Japan are already discussing storage-related regulation, it added.