Energy storage systems (NOS)

Russia

2023

Russia created a roadmap for the development of batteries for 127 billion rubles

On March 24, 2023, RFA Deputy Prime Minister Novak held a meeting on the development of high-tech energy storage systems and instructed the Ministry of Industry and Trade, together with the Ministry of Finance, Rosatom and InEnergy, to work out financing for the activities of the corresponding roadmap. This was reported by the press service of the Cabinet.

It is noted that the Deputy Prime Minister was informed about the results of the implementation of the roadmap for more than a hundred projects - from research and development to the design and construction of 25 production facilities in the field of battery creation lithium-ion and other modern energy storage systems in various regions of the country - from Kaliningrad to Moscow regions.

The planned amount of financing for the roadmap until 2030 is about 127 billion rubles

The planned amount of financing for the roadmap until 2030 is about 127 billion rubles, of which 76% - about 96.5 billion rubles - is financed by business funds.

On behalf of Alexander Novak, monthly monitoring of the implementation of the "road map" of the project will be carried out to regularly consider the progress of its implementation in the government.

We are talking about the "roadmap" "Technologies for creating electricity storage systems, including portable ones." The activities of this initiative are aimed at accelerating technological development and achieving leading positions in the world in this area, as well as promoting the solution of the tasks of the Concept for the development of the production and use of electric road transport in the Russian Federation until 2030.

In January 2023, the government concluded an agreement with Rosatom on the development of this area. Responsible for this in the contour of the state corporation is LLC Renera, an integrator for the development of accumulation systems. By March 2023, the company is implementing a gigafactory project in the Kaliningrad region with a capacity of 4 GWh per year.^[1]

Russian scientists are developing energy storage devices on superconductors

Scientists of the National Research Nuclear University "MEPhI" are developing energy storage devices of an updated type, based on the properties of modern high-temperature superconducting materials. The development is supported by the Priority 2030 program. This was announced on February 27, 2023 by representatives of MEPhI. Read more here.

2022

China launches world's largest compressed air energy storage plant

On October 4, 2022, the largest compressed air energy storage station (CAES) was put into commercial operation. It is located in Zhangjiakou, a city in the northern Chinese province of Hebei. Read more here.

World's first commercial sand battery launched

On July 7, 2022, Polar Night Energy announced the launch of the world's first commercial sand battery. It is installed on the territory of Vatajankoski. Read more here.

2018

Investment from the World Bank Group

On October 3, 2018, the World Bank Group announced the provision of US $1 billion to implement a global program to accelerate investments in the creation of batteries for power systems in developing and middle-income countries. According to the company, the program will help these countries increase the use of renewable energy sources, in particular, wind and solar, increase energy security, improve grid stability and increase access to electricity.

For October 2018, it is expected that the provision of US $1 billion by the World Bank Group will further mobilize US $4 billion in concessional funding for climate change projects and public and private investment. The programme aims to fund storage capacity work of 17.5 gigawatt-hours (GHh) by 2025, more than triple the total storage capacity of 4-5 GHh available for 2018 in all developing countries.

As of October 2018, batteries used in power generation systems are expensive, and most projects are concentrated in developed countries. The "Accelerate Battery Storage" programme, developed at the request of countries to promote development, will finance and protect against risk investments in, for example, industrial-scale solar parks with batteries for electricity storage and off-grid systems, including mini-grids, and self-contained batteries, which can help stabilize and increase grid power.

The programme will also support large-scale projects to demonstrate suitable storage technologies for developing countries, such as batteries, which are durable, resistant to harsh conditions and high temperatures and have minimal environmental risks.

The World Bank Group is investing $1 billion of its own funds in this program and will raise another $1 billion in concessional funding for climate change projects through channels such as the Climate Investment Funds Clean Technology Fund (CTF). The program is expected to further mobilize US $3 billion from public and private funds and investors.

The program also provides for the creation of a global "think tank" on electricity storage, which will bring together national laboratories, research institutes, development institutions and charitable organizations. It will focus on the development of international cooperation and technological capacity-building in order to develop solutions in the field of electricity storage and adaptation, taking into account the needs and conditions of developing countries.

The World Bank Group is working with client countries to facilitate the installation of batteries in the creation of solar and wind power generation systems, implementing such projects in Africa, South Asia and the Pacific as of October 2018. As of October 2018, the Bank Group has funded approximately 15 per cent of fixed electricity storage capacity that has already been established or is being established in developing countries, mainly through projects to create mini-grids and improve the reliability of energy supply in island countries.^[2]

Russia did not have time to begin the introduction of NOS in time

To catch up with the lag in the energy storage sector, Russia should start by developing its own technologies and at this stage focus on test pilot projects based on imported technologies, experts from Rusnano and the CSR say. Apparently, the role of the Russian Federation in the world market of energy storage will remain rather modest, and consumers are already afraid that they will again have to pay power engineers for new technologies^[3].

Russia did not have time to start introducing energy storage systems (NOS) in time and will have to catch up with foreign countries, follows from the expert report of the Center for Strategic Research (CSR) and Rusnano presented on July 3. As noted in the report, the global NOS market in the energy sector by 2025 will exceed $18 billion, and consumers ("Internet energy") - $10.8 billion. In 2017, the market volume was $2.6 billion. In the Russian Federation, so far there are only 1.4 GW of pumped storage stations (PSPP) of such technologies, other technologies are practically not used, the only large battery plant is Liotech Rusnano, others work for military orders with outdated technologies, experts say. The maximum volume of the NOS market in the Russian Federation by 2025 may reach $8.6 billion, but "realistic" - only $1.5-3 billion.

Energy storage is considered a technology that, in the words of the deputy head of the Rusnano Management Company, the head of the supervisory board of the Market Council (regulator of energy markets) Yury Udaltsov, can "break the key postulate" that underlies energy systems - that energy cannot be stored. Consumers now contain a huge generation reserve to cover peak loads. The development of green generation with unstable production complicates the situation. This also leads to volatility in electricity prices: at the peak of demand, they grow, at a minimum consumption they fall, which could smooth out the NOS. The boom in electric vehicles using the same storage technologies has also become an incentive for the development of NOS.

The key problem of NOS is their high price. The cost of storing energy (about $0.4 per kWh) is several times higher than production, says Natalya Porokhova from ACRA, the average final energy in the Russian Federation is $0.05. "The industry monitors the storage sector, but expects the technology to become cheaper," says Valery Dzyubenko, deputy head of the Energy Consumer Community. "Now NOS are rarely used at enterprises and only as a reserve for a short period." But when economic efficiency is achieved, consumers will actively invest in NOS, this allows reducing energy costs during periods of peak prices.

Since 2017, the Russian Federation has had a strategy for the development of the NOS, and Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich in 2016 instructed the ministry and Rusnano to develop a terms of Rusnano for the creation of a state program to support the cluster. The Ministry of Energy told Kommersant that a "roadmap" has been formed for the development of the NOS, but the systems need to be tested on "pilots" and, with positive results, introduce technologies. But testing the technology is a matter for Rusnano and other companies in the industry, the department says.

The experts of the CSR and Rusnano do not propose to eliminate the technological lag. In their opinion, the Russian Federation can achieve success in "post-lithium" and metal-air batteries, flow batteries, gravitational and hydrogen technologies. The report proposed a "strategic maneuver." At first, it is proposed not to wait for technologies to become cheaper, but to start creating domestic demand - at the expense of pilot projects (test sites). "Pilots," the report says, at the first stage will be limited to isolated power systems, electric transport, mobile energy sources, etc., while it is planned to use imported technologies here, and at the next stage replace them with domestic ones.

Notes