LDES and Key Technologies

Episode 9: Why Long-Duration Energy Storage (LDES) Is the Missing Link in a Clean Energy Future?

In this episode, we explore why Long-Duration Energy Storage (LDES) is a game-changer in the global transition to renewable energy. LDES technologies—ranging from flow batteries and compressed air to thermal and hydrogen storage—can store and discharge energy for hours to days, making them essential for balancing variable wind and solar power, supporting industrial decarbonization, and enhancing grid reliability. Whether you're new to the topic or following energy innovation closely, this episode unpacks the technologies, use cases, and market momentum behind one of the most crucial—but often overlooked—pieces of the clean energy puzzle.

📘 Glossary of Terms
• Cap and Floor Scheme: A policy mechanism that sets a maximum (cap) and minimum (floor) level of revenue for energy storage projects. It provides revenue certainty to investors and is used to encourage the deployment of LDES.
• Capacity Accreditation: A quantified measure of how much a generation source contributes to meeting peak system demand and maintaining the reliability margin.
• Capacity Shortfall: A condition where the total capacity of generation and demand-side resources is insufficient to meet forecasted peak demand and reliability requirements.
• Decarbonization: The process of reducing or eliminating carbon emissions, particularly in the energy sector.
• Dispatchable Resources: Generation resources that can be turned on or off at the operator’s discretion to match electricity supply with demand.
• Electrochemical Storage: A type of LDES technology that stores electricity through chemical reactions, typically in battery systems.
• Effective Load Carrying Capability (#ELCC): The amount of existing generation capacity that can be reliably replaced by a variable generation or storage system without compromising system reliability.
• Geographical Footprint: A measure of the physical area occupied by an energy storage system, usually expressed in kWh per square meter (kWh/m²).
• LDES (Long-Duration Energy Storage): Technologies that can store and discharge electrical or thermal energy over extended periods—typically from several hours to multiple days.
• Liquid Air Energy Storage (#LAES): A thermodynamic energy storage system that stores energy by liquefying air and later evaporating it to drive turbines when electricity is needed.
• Mechanical Storage: A category of LDES technologies that store energy through physical means such as compressed air, pumped hydro, or gravity.
• Net Zero: A state where the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere equals the amount removed, resulting in zero net emissions.
• Power-to-Heat: A form of energy conversion and storage in which electricity is converted into heat for storage or industrial use.
• Power-to-Power: A form of energy storage where electricity is stored and later converted back into electricity when needed.
• Power-to-X: A broad concept in which electricity is converted into storable energy carriers or chemicals (e.g., hydrogen).
• Pumped Hydro Storage (#PHS): An LDES technology that stores energy by pumping water from a lower to an upper reservoir and releasing it through turbines to generate electricity when needed.
• Round-Trip Efficiency (#RTE): The ratio of energy retrieved from a storage system compared to the energy input, indicating the system’s overall efficiency.
• Small Modular Reactors (#SMRs): Nuclear power plants that are smaller in size and designed to be built using modular construction methods.
• Thermal Storage: A type of LDES technology that stores thermal energy and releases it when required.
• Underground Pumped Hydro Storage (#UPHS): A type of pumped hydro storage that utilizes existing mine shafts or underground caverns to store energy.
• Vanadium Redox Flow Battery (#VRFB): An electrochemical flow battery that stores energy through redox reactions involving vanadium ions.

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