Author:
Mohan Mankikar, Micro-Tech Consultants
Date
12/05/2013
PDF
Energy storage is normally considered as a non-exciting subject within the energy infrastructure technologies. Alternative/renewable energy, smart grid, the Internet and the communications infrastructure development are exciting, get significant attention and research dollars from the industry and the government, but not so for energy storage. It is also usually associated with the batteries─a chemical product─viewed as low-tech and environmentally unfriendly. So energy storage can be called as the "stepchild of the energy infrastructure systems", essential but not noteworthy.
But energy storage is essential for the smooth functioning of modern and evolving energy infrastructure systems, especially with the emergence of renewable energy and smart grid technologies that are being integrated into the traditional electrical grid system. Energy storage is important, especially in renewable energy generation as the sun does not always shine, nor does the wind always blow, requiring backup/storage as an essential part of the system. Similarly in the smart grid, with the Internet and other communications infrastructure overlaying on the grid, a backup similar to the telecommunications infrastructure is necessary. While storage is essential, what type and what form it should take is a matter of debate, as environmental issues pervade social consciousness and "eco-friendly" energy storage systems become important.
Batteries occupy predominance in the energy storage and backup systems, and they hold a significant market share. There are many battery chemistries used in energy storage systems such as Lead-acid (widely used in telecom), Sodium-sulfur (used by electric utilities), NiCad, Lithium-based, Zinc-based and a few others. But batteries are not the only energy storage technologies. There are many traditional technologies used, and new/exotic technologies are in the research phase and some coming to market.
During the Smart Grid Workshop organized by the PSMA (Power Sources Manufacturers Association) and EPRI (Electric Power Research Institute) in March 2013, Dr. Satish Rajagopalan of EPRI gave a presentation on Energy Storage for the Electric Enterprise: Opportunities and Challenges. He presented a slideshow of various existing and emerging technologies at various stages of their development. Some were mature technologies, some were in the development stage and moving into mature stage, some were in the development and the demonstration stage, while some were truly revolutionary and exotic technologies in the research and development (R&D) phase. The slideshow presented the following technologies and their various stages of development:
Some of these technologies are in early stages of development and their clear-cut progress cannot be determined from a market acceptance standpoint. But the important point of the presentation was that there are various old and new energy storage technologies that have been deployed and may come into the market place if research and funding is adequately increased. Energy storage technologies receive the least amount of research dollars in the entire spectrum of energy infrastructure and hence the true research progress in this field is slow and may create a weak link in energy infrastructure.
PSMA's Energy Efficiency Committee has decided to address the issue of lack of attention in energy storage. (Disclaimer: I am a member of the PSMA committee). The committee is organizing a Special Industry Session: “Energy Storage and Power Management” that will be held during the upcoming 2014 Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC) in Fort Worth, Texas. The session will have presenters who will address various issues related to energy storage, from the core technologies, their various applications, and emphasis the role of energy storage in power management. It is important to focus on energy storage within the context of power management since APEC is a power electronics conference. This linkage between energy storage and power electronics will hopefully provide a higher profile for energy storage technologies and may garner more attention which may encourage more research dollars from the industry and the government.
