Energy Storage

Government investments in energy storage and related areas, such as the smart grid, continue to bear fruit, particularly in the North American and Asian markets. Both the global energy storage project pipeline and the number of deployed projects have grown. Meanwhile, the R&D and government funding strategies within each region are converging. While Asian economies are moving toward advanced battery technologies, with the intention of developing export industries, European economies are focusing on integrating renewables at both the bulk and the distributed level. The North American market, meanwhile, is characterized by a policy of funding innovation and, consequently, remains the most technologically diverse region in the industry.

Another key development in the energy storage market is the increasing specialization and repositioning of firms in the supply chain. Some technology vendors have repositioned themselves as systems integrators, and in some cases, integrators are entering the sector from other industries. This is a critical time for the advanced energy storage industry