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Are we at a critical juncture in the energy transition? Electricity demand growth outlooks are as high as +80% in 2050, much of which is expected to be met by intermittent renewables, forecast to make up ~59% of generation by 2030. High shares of renewables present further complications for already strained grids, while energy security is a continued focus. At-scale energy storage answers many challenges, though geopolitical considerations in the critical raw materials supply chain are an important factor to consider.

More renewables in the energy mix requires more storage to address intermittency. Energy storage needs to grow 34-fold by 2050, reaching over 9,000 GW up from ~270GW today. By 2030, energy storage capacity needs to grow 8x to over 2,000GW.

Viable battery storage technologies (notably lithium-ion supported by developments in the EV industry) have been a key area of focus in recent years. Li-ion batteries are highly efficient, energy dense (i.e. lightweight), and modular. We look at storage from a much broader, sustainability and energy transition perspective and questions whether Li-ion batteries will be the primary solution to energy storage at scale going forward.

These considerations include:

1. the increasing geopolitical considerations around critical raw materials, including recent export bans
2. practicality considerations including lifetime & safety
3. current limitations on commercially viable durations of >4hrs (i.e. long duration energy storage)

While continued growth in existing battery storage system technologies, notably Li-ion, is expected, other technologies could emerge as disruptors in this space. Potential disruptors include gravitational, compressed air, compressed CO₂, and liquid air storage, as well as battery technologies such as sodium-ion, iron-air, solid state, and flow batteries.