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Original Experimental Approach for Assessing Transport Fuel Stability
Published on: October 21, 2016
Path to future markets: Method for quantifying long-duration energy storage competitiveness
Farzan ZareAfifi1, Zabir Mahmud1, Sarah Kurtz1
1School of Engineering, University of California, Merced, Merced, CA 95343, USA.
Iscience
|May 21, 2026
Summary
Long-duration energy storage (LDES) can be cost-competitive with lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) by scaling energy reservoirs independently. This approach ensures grid resiliency and cost-effectiveness, even with lower efficiencies.
Area of Science:
- Energy Systems Engineering
- Grid Modernization
- Renewable Energy Integration
Background:
- Renewable energy sources like solar and wind introduce variability into power grids.
- Grid-scale energy storage is crucial for managing this intermittency and ensuring grid stability.
- Lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) are currently the dominant grid-scale storage technology.
Purpose of the Study:
- To define and model long-duration energy storage (LDES) systems.
- To quantify the cost-competitiveness of LDES against LiBs for grid applications.
- To identify optimal LDES reservoir sizing for cost-competitiveness in solar-dominated grids.
Main Methods:
- Developed a modeling method to assess LDES cost-competitiveness.
- Defined LDES by independent scaling of energy reservoir and power conversion hardware.
- Examined California's solar-dominated grid to demonstrate the model's application.
Main Results:
- Identified LDES reservoir sizes that achieve cost-competitiveness with LiBs.
- Demonstrated that scaling energy reservoirs enables LDES to compete at efficiencies as low as 30% in strict carbon-emissions scenarios.
- Showcased LDES's role in maintaining grid resiliency by providing reserve capacity.
Conclusions:
- LDES offers a viable and cost-competitive alternative to LiBs for grid-scale energy storage.
- Independent scaling of LDES components is key to its economic competitiveness.
- LDES plays a vital role in ensuring grid reliability and supporting high renewable energy penetration.
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