Great way to kick off la rentrée: Strategizing about a clean technology that’s ready for prime time at COP29
How wonderful that my first meeting after the summer holiday was with Bruce Douglas, CEO of the Global Renewables Alliance and one of the key architects of the ‘Tripling Renewables’ target launched at #cop28. Luckily, it is now dawning on Leaders across the globe that such a target needs to be complemented with sizeable increases in #energystorage. This is not a ‘nice to have’ but one of the foundational pillars for achieving a fully renewable power grid, and therefore a successful #energytransition. That is why Bruce and many others are now working towards a global energy storage target to be launched at #cop29.
What’s genuinely puzzling is that the EU lacks a dedicated #storage strategy - this despite making renewables the backbone of its energy transition. Has it not occurred to anyone that the wind may not always blow and the sun not always shine?
Knowing that for many observers ‘storage tech’ is a broad, indiscriminate bucket, it’s important to realize that there are different approaches, all of which deserve policy attention, funding, demand and offtake.
Using some of the Breakthrough Energy Ventures portfolio companies as examples, here is an overview:
➡️ Mechanical Storage: Quidnet Energy is advancing geomechanical pumped storage, which stores energy in underground reservoirs, offering scalable solutions for diverse locations.
➡️ Electrochemical Storage: Form Energy is pioneering iron-air batteries that provide 100 hours of electricity, enhancing grid resilience. ESS, Inc. is developing flow batteries with long-duration capabilities, while Our Next Energy (ONE) is pushing the boundaries of lithium-ion batteries, vital for short-term, rapid-response storage.
➡️ Thermal Storage: Malta Inc. is revolutionizing energy storage with molten salt technology, converting heat back into electricity on demand. Rondo Energy, Antora Energy, and Fourth Power are leading with high-temperature heat storage solutions for industrial use.
➡️ Chemical Storage: Chemical storage technologies convert surplus renewable energy into chemical forms, like hydrogen or synthetic gas, for long-term storage and flexible use, playing a critical role in balancing the energy grid.
At COP 28, the EU was instrumental in driving the ‘tripling renewables target’. For COP29, there’s talk of calling for a six-fold (!) increase in global storage capacity. Given that these technologies are more nascent and less widely deployed, there's a lot of catching up to do.
Even in the absence of a storage strategy of its own, the EU should embrace this target wholeheartedly. The benefits will extend beyond #climate because new, sizeable #markets will be built, #resilience be strengthened and #innovation be powered. Sounds to me like the perfect hallmark for the forthcoming Clean Industrial Deal? 🤔