Pipeline Of Grid-Connected Energy Storage Projects Reaches 2 GW, Says IHS

The number of grid-connected energy storage projects in the pipeline at the end of the second quarter was in the range of 2 GW, according to research firm IHS Technology.

According to a new research note published by IHS Technology this week, the energy storage pipeline is being led by the United States, China, and South Korea. The IHS Energy Storage Company and Project Database — Q2 2016 tracked 2 GW of grid-connected energy storage projects currently in the pipeline, a 20% increase since the end of 2015.

The Research Note also highlighted the ever-increasing market share that lithium ion batteries (Li-ion) are creating for themselves in the global energy storage market. According to IHS, Li-ion batteries have increased their market share from 20% back in 2010 to 90% forecast for 2016. Li-ion technology is now leading lead-acid batteries in the power storage category, and is even challenging sodium sulphur and flow for grid-scale long-duration storage.

IHS sees rapid cost-reduction in the market thanks in part to the supply chain for batteries in the auto and power sectors. As a result, competition has increased between China’s BYD, GCL, South Korea’s Samsung SDI, LG Chem, and Japan’s Panasonic. Recently, in residential storage, GCL launched a battery system at $450/kWh (excluding inverter) in Australia, which nearly matches Tesla’s announced price of $3,000 for a 7kWh system.

Grid-scale batteries have seen prices for delivery in 2016 sit at around $400/kWh to $500/kWh, and IHS is expecting a further price reduction of 30% over the next 18 months.