As the markets for energy storage continue to grow and companies in those markets mature, business models and financing mechanisms are getting more attention.
Those models can involve alternatives to a traditional asset sale approach that can reduce the cost of entry for potential customers and lower the cost of capital for energy storage companies.
The trend was highlighted last week when Younicos announced its energy storage rental service. Renting energy storage equipment was an obvious step for Younicos, given that its corporate parent, Aggreko, rents power generation equipment on a global scale.
Younicos hopes that by lowering the cost of energy, it will be able to expand the market for its energy storage services. The idea is that in many cases renting storage equipment is cheaper than buying and owning it.
The main driver in that business model is “to help the economics a little bit by lightening the capital expenditure for the customer,” Tim Grejtak, an analyst with Lux Research, told Utility Dive. A lot of businesses use a discounted cash flow model and “any payment you defer into the future helps your cash flow,” he explained.
For the first phase of its marketing efforts, Younicos says it is targeting hybrid systems and microgrids in the commercial and industrial market, rather than large scale utility energy storage installations.
Younicos’s new business model is part of a wider trend under way in the industry, Grejtak said. Energy storage companies previously differentiated themselves with technology, especially before lithium-ion batteries became dominant. Then, they highlighted the control software for their energy storage systems. Now, companies are increasingly highlighting their financial and business models, Grejtak told Utility Dive.
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