\u00a9 iStock\/Chunumunu We all have the common aim of better performing, safer, more durable, and more sustainable batteries, and so we need to find a good balance between having quite exacting requirements and not limiting the deployment of batteries by having overly complicated procedures<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nWhen it comes to scaling up production in the energy storage sector to meet future decarbonisation targets, what do you feel will be the biggest challenges?<\/h3>\n It is very promising that the EU has put a lot of effort into various projects to support the development and European manufacturing of new batteries. The challenges will concern speeding up some of the materials research and finding alternative materials and chemistries that really can deliver on what is potentially possible. In the EU context, there has been a lot of discussion on skills and research collaboration and trying to enhance the EU\u2019s competitiveness in the sector.<\/p>\n
In terms of scaling up, the EU \u2013 which has always been quite strong in terms of research into batteries and other storage technologies \u2013 has identified manufacturing as a significant issue. European companies are also quite good in the development of battery management systems and the integration of batteries.<\/p>\n
Battery manufacturing was something of a weak point in the past, but now we have seen a lot of battery manufacturing plants being announced and coming online in Europe. The challenge that EASE is mainly focused on is the regulatory framework, which should enable a strong business case for energy storage and be technology neutral so that it is not just focused on today\u2019s batteries but leaves the door open for the next generation.<\/p>\n
EASE has expressed concern that the new EU Batteries Regulation risks \u2018hampering innovation and competition\u2019. What effect could this have on the energy storage industry and what changes would you like to see to remedy this issue?<\/h3>\n Our biggest concern about all EU legislation related to storage and specifically the Batteries Regulation is that they are not technology neutral. While the Batteries Regulation attempts to cover many different types of applications, it does seem specifically geared towards lithium-ion batteries and their specific applications. We are thus concerned that some of the provisions could hamper the deployment of other types of batteries and that some of their requirements, for example with regards to energy density, may not be suitable for other types of applications. When it comes to performance and durability, for example, we are not convinced that it is necessary to have specific provisions within this regulation because different types of applications have different requirements. The market should be able to decide what types of batteries are used in which application, because the business case should be there. It is not necessarily the role of the regulation to define that.<\/p>\n
We all have the common aim of better performing, safer, more durable, and more sustainable batteries, and so we need to find a good balance between having quite exacting requirements and not limiting the deployment of batteries by having overly complicated procedures. We have a lot of start-ups at EASE, and so the Batteries Regulation is something we are actively discussing with them. We hope that the final result will be a good balance and will be usable for all different types of actors.<\/p>\n\u00a9 iStock\/chinaface Thermal storage could have a huge role to play in terms of decarbonising heating and cooling, as well as in terms of providing extra flexibility to the electricity system<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAside from batteries, what other energy storage technologies do you expect to see over the next decade that are going to significantly contribute to Europe\u2019s decarbonisation goals?<\/h3>\n There are probably too many to mention. We have established two roadmaps on research and development into energy storage, which cover all the different storage technologies, and there are lots of them.<\/p>\n
There is a lot of research and innovation taking place at the moment, but one example that seems to have untapped potential at the moment is thermal storage, which is rarely mentioned. Thermal storage could have a huge role to play in terms of decarbonising heating and cooling, as well as in terms of providing extra flexibility to the electricity system. This is therefore one area where there is a lot of interesting research happening at the moment. Power-to-gas is a solution that is currently receiving a lot of attention in Europe, and there is a lot of effort to get that rolled out. As previously mentioned, flow batteries and other longer duration batteries may also prove to be quite interesting moving forwards.<\/p>\n
Interesting work is also taking place on mechanical storage. In the UK, there is a start-up working on liquid air energy storage, for example, which could have a lot of interesting applications. Research and innovation is also going on in the pumped hydro storage sector, for example on retrofitting different types of hydropower plants to enable energy storage. Hybrid storage systems are also receiving a lot of attention in terms of research and development where, by combining two different storage technologies into one system, the response and duration can be maximised.<\/p>\n
Of course, lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles<\/a> will be the biggest application, but for the stationary storage sector, there are many different technologies with a lot of potential.<\/p>\nBrittney Elzarei<\/strong> \nPolicy Manager<\/strong> \nThe European Association for Storage of Energy (EASE)<\/strong> \n+32 2 743 29 82<\/strong> \ninfo@ease-storage.eu<\/strong><\/a> \nTweet @EASE_ES<\/strong> \nhttps:\/\/ease-storage.eu\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nPlease note, this article will also appear in the sixth edition of our\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>quarterly publication<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Brittney Elzarei, Policy Manager at EASE, spoke to The Innovation Platform\u2019s Lorna Malkin about the policy environment surrounding batteries in Europe and the potential of new and disruptive energy storage solutions <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":11411,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24433,785],"tags":[649,582,24161,24163,24162],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Shaping Europe\u2019s energy storage future<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n