The Clean Energy Council has recently released an in-depth report, titled “The Future Of Long Duration Energy Storage.” This is a lengthy document at 83 pages, and a comprehensive summary of the challenges that the energy sector faces in the transition to low-carbon economies, and how long-duration energy storage needs to be deployed to meet this challenge.
As Kane Thornton, the CEO of the CEC, writes in his forward:
“The concept of the energy trilemma – the need to deliver emissions reduction, while keeping the lights on and minimising price impacts – may be a well-worn one, but it remains accurate.
“The only way to achieve a zero-carbon power system is if the lights stay on and customer bills are kept as low as possible. Failure to do so risks losing public support, delaying the transition at precisely the point it must accelerate.”
The paper then breaks down the various forms of energy storage, explains the technologies behind them, and their relative merits and potential use cases.
Allegro Energy was featured in the paper to highlight the capabilities of Redox Flow batteries. As the report notes:
“Origin Energy is intending to build a 460MW 2-hour LIB on the site of the Eraring coal generator in NSW, with a plan to extend this asset to 700MW and 4 hours.
“Complementing the LIB battery will be a redox flow battery. This asset will initially provide 8-hour energy storage (100kW/800kWh). If the commercial trial proves successful, a 5MW (60MWh) RFB is planned, potentially also at the Eraring site. The asset itself will be supplied by Allegro Energy, an Australian company utilising a patented water-based RFB chemistry. Although the specific chemistry has not been made public, Allegro state that the battery has a higher energy density than other technologies, is non-flammable, non-corrosive, does not require rare or scarce materials and is entirely recyclable at the end of life.”
It is an honour to be included in such a comprehensive breakdown of the state of energy storage in Australia, and its future. You can read the full report here.