ESGC 2014

From 19 to 21 November 2014, EASE organised the first Energy Storage Global Conference in the Cercle National des Armées in Paris, together with ESA and ATEE-CSE (respectively the American and French Energy Storage Association), DG Joint Research Centre and DG Energy of the European Commission and Sandia National Laboratories.

More than 150 delegates attended this first conference, which saw 40 speakers from the European Commission, the National Administrations, Industry, Research Centres and other National & International bodies.

During the 3 days conference, experts from all over the world discussed the latest trends in various energy storage technologies, compared business cases and assessed regulatory issues across segments and countries.

Patrick Clerens, Secretary General of EASE, and Matthew Roberts, Executive Director of ESA, summarised the main conclusions of the conference:

• Defining ‘energy storage’ in a policy and regulatory context is a high priority.
• Entry barriers and undue tariffs affecting storage need to be eliminated.
• Energy Storage systems are established, revenue generating solutions in some energy and services markets. In order to realise the high potential of additional value streams, further efforts are needed in the areas of technology, regulation and market design.
• Several energy storage technologies have reached technical maturity and are available on an industrial scale. RD&D must further be supported to unlock the full potential of each technology, enable upscaling and cost reduction, and to enable the emergence of new technologies.
• We must emphasise collaboration – It is critical to moving global markets to enable storage.

A survey taken during the event showed a 95% satisfaction level with the conference, its organisation, its speakers, its content, and its relevance. Equally, there was a general consensus to see it repeated in the future.

In her closing address Ms Colette Lamontagne, Director of Navigantand ESA Chairwoman, asked the delegates to play an active role in developing energy storage markets:

“Collaboration between these many countries is key to unlocking energy storage’s full potential. This conference has set the stage for continued advancement – but let’s not rest with what we have accomplished here. Instead let’s turn this momentum into a global opportunity to make electric grids more resilient and efficient.”