EASE Study on Storage Demand

In this study, EASE seeks to analyse the demand for energy storage systems. EASE defines energy storage as follows: “'energy storage' means, in the electricity system, deferring an amount of the electricity that was produced to the moment of use, either as final energy or converted into another energy carrier.” This definition encompasses Power-to-Gas, Power-to-Heat/Cold, and Power-to-Liquid technologies, recognising that they can support the dynamic operation of the electricity grid with thermal, fuel or gas as flexibility for downward regulation.

The demand for energy storage is assessed in many studies on the basis of targets for renewable energy supply. These studies give evidence of storage demand on different time scales that are required in order to achieve a certain degree of renewable generation for the electricity supply. Storage demand studies differ from market outlook studies since they seek to quantify the technical need for energy storage, rather than estimating the future market for energy storage systems. This kind of assessment of energy storage demand on the basis of technical necessity, however, does not answer the crucial question of whether the needed energy storage capacity can economically be built in the existing market design environment.