Iola Hughes: Battery Energy Stationary Storage Market to Double in 2023

Energy stationary storage is growing at a faster pace than any other segment in the battery market today, with significant demand expected to continue in the coming years.

Speaking with the Investing News Network on the sidelines of this year’s Battery Gigafactories Europe event, hosted by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, Iola Hughes of Rho Motion said the scale of the new projects coming online continues to grow.

“Last year, we saw around 75 gigawatt hours installed across the grid and behind the meter markets, and that's across all the different chemistries,” she said. “In 2023, we are expecting the market to double.”

The factors that drive chemistry choices in batteries for energy storage are slightly different compared to the electric vehicle market.

“You are no longer restricted by space, as often these batteries are installed in big, wide open spaces. So low energy density is okay,” she said. “And what that really means is we've seen kind of a shift towards which technologies are being used in these assets.”

Rho Motion expects lithium-iron-phosphate to continue to dominate, and Hughes said there are a number of other emerging technologies with the potential to disrupt the sector.

When asked about how different regions have been growing, she said Europe is quite far behind the US and the Chinese markets when it comes to stationary storage.

“In China last year, we saw a massive increase in storage because of new policy, which essentially required storage to be installed alongside renewables,” she said. “In the US market, there's also been strong support from specific states, which has driven growth.”

The research manager explained that in the European market there are a number of barriers around legislation, including how energy storage is defined, which has restricted the market somewhat.

“So growth has been pretty limited over the last few years,” she said. “Historically, the support has not really been there, but we are starting to see the momentum changing now.”

Hughes also shared her stance on what other factors could impact the energy storage sector this year. Listen to the interview above to hear more of her thoughts.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Priscila Barrera, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.