Germany’s energy storage sector now employs more than half the number of people as the country’s lignite industry, according to figures released last month.
An annual report by the German Energy Storage Association (Bundesverband Energiespeicher or BVES), compiled in association with Berlin-based energy sector consultancy Team Consult, found the energy storage industry employed around 11,130 workers in 2017.
This is set to rise 9 percent to around 12,140 in 2018. Meanwhile figures from Euracoal, the European Association for Coal and Lignite, show Germany’s lignite industry had around 20,740 direct and indirect workers in 2015.
The BVES data shows employment in Germany’s residential battery market has grown 131 percent since 2015. The segment is expected to employ 1,800 professionals this year.
More people are employed by industrial and utility-scale battery companies, although growth in this segment has been more modest, rising from 2,250 in 2015 to an expected 3,200 this year.
The report also showed the Germany energy storage industry made €4.6 billion ($5.6 billion) in sales in 2017.
That is expected to grow to around €5.1 billion ($6.2 billion) this year, of which around €3.3 billion ($4 billion) is to come from what the BVES terms “new storage technologies” and their applications.
These technologies cover just about everything other than pumped hydro, including batteries, power-to-gas and thermal energy storage. Their contribution to Germany’s energy storage sector revenues has increased almost 74 percent since 2015.
Over the same period, the pumped hydro sector has declined slightly in revenues, from €2 billion ($2.5 billion) in 2015 to an expected €1.8 billion ($2.2 billion) this year. Most of the growth in new technologies is attributable to rapid expansion in the battery market.
The big driver financially was battery sales to utilities and commercial and industrial (C&I) customers. These were worth €1.12 billion ($1.37 billion) in 2017 and are set to grow more than 22 percent to €1.37 billion ($1.68 billion) this year.
Recent Comments