It’s been a long time coming, but vintage solar energy storage research dating back to the 1980s (and beyond) is finally bearing fruit. In the latest development, scientists at the University of Houston in Texas have demonstrated proof of life for a hybrid device that collects and stores sunlight in the form of heat for 24/7 use. Nope, it’s not a concentrating solar system and it doesn’t rely on molten salt or specialized oils. It involves norbornadiene-quadricyclane, something fairly new on the CleanTechnica radar.

Energy Storage With Norbornadiene-Quadricyclane
Norbornadiene-quadricyclane has been studied for solar energy storage since at least 1983, when the American Chemical Society published a paper aptly titled, “Norbornadiene-quadricyclane system in the photochemical conversion and storage of solar energy” in the journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Process Design and Development.

The research toddled along slowly until a veritable volcano of new papers erupted in recent years. A 2016 study by a team of researchers in Sweden nails down the reason for the fresh burst of activity (emphasis added):

“Molecular photoswitches that are capable of storing solar energy, so-called molecular solar thermal storage systems, are interesting candidates for future renewable energy applications. In this context, substituted norbornadiene-quadricyclane systems have received renewed interest due to recent advances in their synthesis.“

Wait, What Is Norbornadiene-Quadricyclane?
Got all that? Compared to the olden days, nowadays a norbornadiene-quadricyclane system can be tailored more precisely for peak performance.

As for what norbornadiene-quadricyclane is, that’s the easy part. It’s a compound of two hydrocarbons (aka organic molecules), norbornadiene and quadricyclane.

And now for the super interesting part. Remember back in high school when isomers were a thing? In chemistry, isomers are two or more chemical compounds that have the same kind and number of atoms. The atoms are configured differently in each isomer, meaning that each isomer has different properties.

Using solar energy in the form of heat to “flip” one isomer to another is the heart of a norbornadiene-quadricyclane energy storage system.

Sunlight creates a reaction in norbornadiene, transforming it into quadricyclane. The switch from one to the other is also a switch from low energy state to a high energy state, which is where the energy storage angle comes in.

The US Department of Energy has launched a new initiative aimed at accelerating the development, commercialisation and utilisation of next-generation energy storage technologies.

Using a coordinated suite of research and development funding opportunities, prizes, partnerships and other programmes, the Energy Storage Grand Challenge sets out several goals for the US to reach by 2030.

They cover technology development and transfer, including establishing performance goals and validation and accelerating a technology pipeline from research to system design.
The goals also include policy and valuation to develop best-in-class models, data and analysis to inform the most effective value proposition and use cases for storage technologies, as well as boosting manufacturing, the supply chain and training the workforce.

The first step will see DoE soon release requests for information from stakeholders on the key questions and issues the challenge seeks to address.

DoE will also host a series of workshops with stakeholders to share information about various storage technologies, learn more about current barriers to deployment, and help shape the work that will bring those technologies to market.

This work will inform the development of a coordinated R&D roadmap to 2030 for a broad suite of storage and flexibility technologies, the department said.

The Grand Challenge builds on the $158m Advanced Energy Storage Initiative announced in President Trump’s Fiscal Year 2020 budget request, DoE said.

US Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette said: “Energy storage is key to capturing the full value of our diverse energy resources.

“Through this Grand Challenge, we will deploy the Department’s extensive resources and expertise to address the technology development, commercialisation, manufacturing, valuation, and workforce challenges to position the US for global leadership in the energy storage technologies of the future.”

Google and other large tech companies are seeking to add cleaner energy to power their operations, but the new deal stands out for its size and the associated storage, which analysts say is less common in similar corporate arrangements.

While NV Energy already has plans to add both solar and storage to its system, Google is seeking to match up all of its consumption with renewables around the clock.

In December, regulators approved NV Energy’s Integrated Resource Plan, including three solar projects totaling 1,190 MW and 590 MW of energy storage capacity. The utility has indicated it will need to update its long-term plan in order to gain approval for the new deal with Google.

Regulators have scheduled a pre-hearing conference for Jan. 23 to begin considering the proposal.

While Google’s renewable energy purchases in the United States have so far been largely wind driven, the company last year said the declining cost of solar “has made harnessing the sun increasingly cost-effective.”

Solar costs have declined more than 80% in the last decade, according to the company.

In the deals announced last year, Google laid out plans to purchase solar energy from a 155 MW project in North Carolina, 75 MW in South Carolina and 490 MW in Texas. The company said those deals would more than double the capacity of its global solar portfolio.

Clean energy is gaining traction with corporate buyers. Wood MacKenzie estimates that in 2018 corporate deals accounted for 22% of wind and solar contracts, with tech giants topping the list of buyers. The firm said Facebook, Google and Amazon accounted for more than a third of the U.S. renewables market in 2018.

But while the trend is towards more corporate renewables deals, this particular transaction stands out. “This is definitely the largest storage [power purchase agreement] I’ve seen,” Alex Eller, senior research analyst at Navigant, told Utility Dive. “It’s an interesting one.”

Storage deals for corporate buyers often don’t pencil out, said Eller, because the renewable generation is already fairly cheap. “There are some other renewable procurements in this size range, but having storage to go along with it is different,” he said.

It’s no secret that the Trump Administration has presided over the collapse of the US coal industry, but do they have to rub it in? The answer appears to be yes. On Wednesday, newly minted Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette announced an all-hands-on-deck initiative to push the energy storage envelope farther into coal-killing territory. For good measure, the new $153 million “Energy Storage Grand Challenge” will probably bump off natural gas, too. And all this under a President* who pledged to save coal jobs!

The Jig Is Up: Trump Hates Coal, Loves Energy Storage
Considering all the promises Trump made to coal miners, their families, and their communities, one would think that a major coal-killing announcement would get buried in a Friday evening news dump. After all, energy storage is the key that accelerates the renewable energy revolution.

Nope. Secretary Brouillette made the announcement in the brilliant light of day exactly in the middle of the week, on Wednesday afternoon at CES 2020 in Las Vegas. The annual event, which is owned and produced by the US Consumer Technology Association, bills itself as “the world’s gathering place for all those who thrive on the business of consumer technologies.”

“It has served as the proving ground for innovators and breakthrough technologies for 50 years — the global stage where next-generation innovations are introduced to the marketplace,” CES continues.

You couldn’t ask for a more high profile venue than that — oh wait, you can.

CES has been especially like honey to media flies this year, because a very high profile White House official — Trump advisor Ivanka Trump — was scheduled to deliver a rare main stage keynote address at the event. That’s rare as in, female main stage keynoters are like unicorns at CES, so between the Trump name and the female angle, all eyes have been on CES for weeks leading up to the event.

A Moonshot For Next Generation Energy Storage
Where were we? Oh right, the new energy storage announcement. Here it is:

“Today, U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette announced the launch of the Energy Storage Grand Challenge, a comprehensive program to accelerate the development, commercialization, and utilization of next-generation energy storage technologies and sustain American global leadership in energy storage.”

At $153 million, funding for the new energy storage program is relatively small. However, it adds to a $158 million pot that was carved into the fiscal year 2020 federal budget.

That’s still peanuts compared to other Energy Department efforts (FutureGen, anyone?), but there’s an interesting twist to this one.

WASHINGTON D.C. – Today, U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette announced the launch of the Energy Storage Grand Challenge, a comprehensive program to accelerate the development, commercialization, and utilization of next-generation energy storage technologies and sustain American global leadership in energy storage. The Grand Challenge builds on the $158 million Advanced Energy Storage Initiative announced in President Trump’s Fiscal Year 2020 budget request.

“Energy storage is key to capturing the full value of our diverse energy resources,” said Secretary Brouillette. “Through this Grand Challenge, we will deploy the Department’s extensive resources and expertise to address the technology development, commercialization, manufacturing, valuation, and workforce challenges to position the U.S. for global leadership in the energy storage technologies of the future.”

The vision for the Energy Storage Grand Challenge is to create and sustain global leadership in energy storage utilization and exports, with a secure domestic manufacturing supply chain that is independent of foreign sources of critical materials, by 2030. While research and development (R&D) is the foundation of advancing energy storage technologies, the Department recognizes that global leadership also requires addressing associated challenges.

Using a coordinated suite of R&D funding opportunities, prizes, partnerships, and other programs, the Energy Storage Grand Challenge sets the following goals for the U.S. to reach by 2030:

• Technology Development: Establish ambitious, achievable performance goals, and a comprehensive R&D portfolio to achieve them;
• Technology Transfer: Accelerate the technology pipeline from research to system design to private sector adoption through rigorous system evaluation, performance validation, siting tools, and targeted collaborations;
• Policy and Valuation: Develop best-in-class models, data, and analysis to inform the most effective value proposition and use cases for storage technologies;
• Manufacturing and Supply Chain: Design new technologies to strengthen U.S. manufacturing and recyclability, and to reduce dependence on foreign sources of critical materials; and
• Workforce: Train the next generation of American workers to meet the needs of the 21st century electric grid and energy storage value chain.
• The Energy Storage Grand Challenge is a cross-cutting effort managed by DOE’s Research and Technology Investment Committee (RTIC). The Department established the RTIC in 2019 to convene the key elements of DOE that support R&D activities, coordinate their strategic research priorities, and identify potential cross-cutting opportunities in both basic and applied science and technology.

As the global energy market, piece by piece, slowly but surely, moves towards a renewables-centred paradigm, dispatchable solar and uncurtailed wind, along with other forms of clean energy, are requiring longer and longer durations of storage to integrate them to the grid. While there’ll be a place for lithium-ion for many years yet, the technology really excels at applications of up to around four hours. For everything else, there’s a growing list of contenders, with diverse technologies and at different stages of commercialisation. Here’s a handy guide to some of those technologies and their providers, electrochemical and otherwise, that promise anything from five hours to even days or weeks of storage.

Who’s got a head start
Pumped hydro

It’s worth remembering that more than 90% of the world’s installed base of energy storage in megawatt-hours is still pumped hydro. Lithium-ion may take the plaudits and the new market share today, but historically, the legacy of pumped hydro remains huge.

Water is elevated using pumps into a retained pool behind a dam. When electricity is required, the water is unleashed and runs through turbines, which then creates electricity. While the amount of energy required to pump the water back up is far less than the amount generated as it falls, systems can also be paired with renewable generation to pump the water back to the top. However, while the system is cheap once built and can last for many years, finding appropriate sites and getting permission to build pumped hydro plants remains an obstacle to widespread further development in most parts of the world.

In June 2019, Australia-based firm Genex Power announced it was set to receive a second round of debt funding from the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF), for what will be the world’s first pumped hydro project to utilise an abandoned gold mine.

In Chile, a 300MW pumped hydro project is under development, having recently received an injection of US$60 million in fresh funding from the Green Climate Fund. The Espejo de Tarapacá project, which will also see a 561MW solar PV plant, is being developed by Chilean renewable developer Valhalla and construction is set to begin next year.

French energy giant Engie is also a proponent of the technology, with its First Hydro Company owning the Ffestiniog and Dinorwig pumped hydro assets in Wales. Engie lauds Dinorwig as the fastest power generation asset in the UK, with the ability to deliver 1.7GW in 16 seconds.

Sodium-sulfur (NAS) batteries

Also fairly well established today, Japanese firm NGK has been working on its NAS sodium-sulfur batteries for over three decades. R&D of the Beta Alumina electrolyte, a key component of the system, began in 1984, with the development of the NAS itself beginning in 1989. NGK worked in collaboration with Japanese energy giant TEPCO for the development of the technology and is the only maker of large-scale sodium-sulfur batteries.

The ideas for how to value storage came from members of the Maryland PSC’s Energy Storage Working Group, which includes representatives of Exelon Corp., Exelon subsidiaries Baltimore Gas & Electric and Pepco, the Energy Storage Association and wholesale electricity market operator PJM Interconnection.

An example of a value stream is an “air emissions reduction value.” Energy storage can create reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by storing electricity generated by non-emitting sources like wind and solar, and then discharging that electricity at times when renewable energy is less available.

Under the working group’s proposal, the megawatt-hours discharged by a storage project could be converted into an equivalent number of tons of CO2, and then that number could be multiplied by a CO2 price to calculate a greenhouse gas reduction value. When this value is combined with other potential value streams, the electricity discharged by a storage project would be worth much more on a dollar basis than would be captured by the price of electricity alone.

The filing mentions that the emissions reductions allowed by potential storage projects can help Maryland reach its goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 40% below 2006 levels by 2030.

Maryland is only the third state to propose substantive analysis of the costs and benefits of storage, Energy Storage Association State Policy Director Nitzan Goldberger said in an email to Utility Dive.

“Currently, only two states—California and New York—have sought to implement [benefit-cost analysis] frameworks beyond simplistic estimates of distribution investment deferral or replacement value,” she said.

“Absent reforms to most current [benefit-cost analysis] frameworks—along with regulatory and market reform that facilitates business models that can provide multiple applications from the same asset—energy storage economic impact analyses would not illustrate the full value of storage,” according to Goldberger.

Another value stream envisioned by the working group would be the savings created when storage defers, or negates the need for transmission and distribution upgrades. Fewer wires and substations need to be built if there are more ways to store electricity, which enhance the reliability of the grid.

More energy conservation at times of peak demand should also be treated as a value stream for storage, according to the working group.

“By reducing the overall need to supply customers during periods of peak demand, the utilities will save money for ratepayers by reducing the overall need to serve the system during period of high demand,” the filing said.

The group also proposed that utilities and regulators should also take into account “non-quantifiable” value streams of storage. For example, battery storage projects can help boost adoption of electric vehicles by serving as additional charging stations.

This last year of the decade proved to be a pivotal year for energy storage technology, as major developments underscored why it is so vital for energy markets. Events such as widespread power outages and transmission issues on a global scale have led to the precipitous rise in energy storage deployments. The energy industry has been working hard to usher in this paradigm shift, and now mainstream consumers –residents and businesses alike– are finally becoming acutely aware of the importance of energy storage.

Battery storage installations in the U.S. in 2018 totaled 311 MW and 777 MWh, up from next to nothing just six years prior. More significant, industry research groups predict that capacities for energy storage will rise exponentially in the next five years. In fact, global energy storage deployments are expected to grow thirteen-fold over the next six years, from a 12 GWh market in 2018 to a 158 GWh market in 2024, according to Wood Mackenzie. This is just the beginning.

Before we take a closer look at what’s next in 2020 and beyond, let’s take a quick look back at 2019 and some of the big stories driving this paradigm shift in the energy market.

Market Drivers: Blackouts, Evolving Energy Infrastructure

The widespread adoption of energy storage solutions is being driven not only by the need for more renewables, but by exponential growth in energy demand, rising energy costs, and inefficient grid systems, as we saw with the outages that hit major cities without warning.

In New York City there were critical blackouts that left more than 72,000 Con Edison customers without power for five hours due to transmission issues. In London, more than a million households and businesses were left in the dark, and commuters stranded, when the lights went out across the city. The cause: a lightning strike that caused two power generators on the National Grid to go offline.

And, as the world watched, California wildfires and subsequent PG&E preemptive blackouts (to avoid further wildfires) afflicted as many as 1.3 million people in the state and threatened to disrupt critical emergency and rescue services. These preventative power cuts have cost California’s economy upward of $2 billion, according to some estimates.