Renewable

August 1 (SeeNews) - The world's energy storage market will double to 2.9 GWh in 2016 from 1.4 GWh added last year, IHS Markit said last week.

According to the analyst firm, global grid-connected energy storage capacity will reach 21 GWh by 2025.

"Energy storage is set to grow as fast as solar photovoltaic energy has in recent years, sparking strong interest from a wide range of players and underscored by recent mergers and acquisitions among car manufacturers, major oil and gas companies, and conventional power suppliers," said IHS Markit principal analyst Marianne Boust.  

Japan and the US will be the biggest markets, accounting for a third of market revenues totalling USD 50 billion (EUR 45.4bn) over the next decade.

Half of all energy storage installations will be behind-the-meter, spurred by self-consumption and back-up needs. IHS Markit also forecasts that lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries will be the main technology and will be used by over 80% of global energy storage installations by 2025.

Australia and Japan will have the highest energy storage penetration in 2025 -- more than 5% of installed power capacity. IHS Markit said this highlighted the growing role of energy storage in grid stability, the integration of renewables and energy management.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.909)