There’s a range of sectors that need to be transformed if they want to further develop. These sectors are renewable energy, automotive, grid stabilization, smart grid, back-up power and portable devices. Crucial in the future development and transformation of these sectors are big scale, reliable and durable electric energy storage technologies. These technologies will enhance the use of intermittent renewable energy sources like wind and solar power and ensure that these become more commercially attractive.
Some of the drivers for developing electric energy storage systems are grid stability and reliability, mass integration of intermittent renewable energy generators, better use of energy resources, fossil fuel shortage and limiting green house gases. In the future, these electric energy storage technologies will be inseparable from smart grids and distributed energy generating systems.
Frost and Sullivan did a Market Penetration and Road mapping research. This research showed that electric energy storage systems are already inscribed in the development strategies of intermittent renewable energy, electric vehicle developers, grid operators and utility companies. The research also revealed that lithium-ion batteries will probably play the most important role in the future of electric energy storage systems over the next five to seven years. These advanced batteries are just one of the various electric energy storage systems, but they are set to attract the most interest in the near future because they are flexible in use. A good example of an application area for this technology are the electric vehicles.
Other electric energy storage technologies include flywheels and compressed air energy storage systems (CAES). Advanced adiabatic CAES could play a big role in enabling the safety connection of big wind farm to the main electric grid in an economically viable way.
