Guest article | Carbon footprint reduction trends for energy storage

To build a low-carbon future, the world must reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and switch to renewable energy. Energy storage is a key technology in this process. Because renewables cannot generate energy on demand in the same way as older power technologies, energy must be reliably stored to bridge the gap between when it is generated and when people need it. Solar energy poses a particularly distinct challenge: solar energy is generated during the day when the sun is shining, and people must use more energy in the evening when it is dark.

Bridging the gap

Battery storage systems help bridge this gap by storing energy in batteries for use at a specific rate and time. This separates generation time from use time, enabling energy to be delivered when consumers need it. As battery storage technology develops and improves, it has the potential to provide increasingly better use of renewable energy sources while improving grid reliability and price stability for consumers.

The use of battery storage extends beyond grid power. It is also used in commercial and industrial applications to increase the reliability of power availability and reduce costs by using stored energy during periods when grid power is particularly expensive. Residential or small communities can also improve energy independence and environmental sustainability by combining energy storage systems with distributed energy sources such as rooftop solar panels.

Increased adoption, reduced footprint

But to meet the growing demand for energy storage, these systems need to get smaller. The International Renewable Energy Agency estimates that 90% of the world’s electricity could come from renewable sources by 2050. This will require a dramatic increase in renewable energy generation. To achieve this, it will take both innovations that make renewable energy generation more efficient while taking up less space, and a dramatic increase in the space we allocate to renewable energy installations. Power companies need to prioritize using available space to generate renewable energy. Every square meter spent storing energy instead of generating it is a wasted opportunity. For this reason, energy storage installations need to be as small as possible while storing as much energy as possible.

Reducing the footprint is also important for EV charging stations and commercial and residential buildings that have limited physical space for energy storage. As electric vehicles become more widely used, expanding EV charging infrastructure has become a major infrastructure initiative. Charging stations must reduce their footprint to meet demand, especially when they are installed next to existing gasoline pumps without increasing the square footage of the property. Smaller battery storage systems help make this possible. Similarly, commercial and residential applications may not be able to change building layouts to accommodate energy storage systems, so ways must be found to fit them into existing architecture.

Reducing the energy storage footprint

Battery technology is improving, and batteries themselves are getting smaller. However, battery energy storage installations still need the appropriate supporting infrastructure to connect, protect, and cool the batteries in close proximity to each other. To reduce the overall footprint of a battery energy storage installation, it is important to look for efficiencies in the way batteries are connected to each other and to the system as a whole, as well as to investigate the method of cooling the entire system.

Liquid cooling is being deployed in data centers worldwide to manage the increasing heat density of next-generation AI and ML installations. Liquid cooling is more efficient than air cooling because liquid has a greater heat transfer capacity than air and can get closer to the heat source. Similarly, liquid cooling can be used in energy storage applications to manage the thermal loads generated by increasing power density. Liquid cooling works in energy storage applications by using a chiller to pump chilled fluid through the system in a closed loop, with precise control adjusting fluid temperature and flow rate to maximize efficiency. By increasing the cooling efficiency of energy storage systems with liquid cooling, battery manufacturers can mount more batteries closer together and increase the power of their installations without increasing their footprint.

However, even with adequately cooled batteries, they must be connected to each other and to any applications they power. Traditional cable solutions, while suitable for some applications, can be difficult to use when space reduction is a major concern, as they often do not have a safe bend radius high enough to accommodate tight bends in small spaces. In such cases, flexible conductors such as flexible busbars or braids can offer more design options due to their reduced cross-section and minimal bend radius requirements. These busbars can be prefabricated to save time and labor on construction sites.

What’s next?

As demand for energy storage continues to grow and government infrastructure investment increases worldwide, reducing the footprint of an energy storage system will be a significant challenge for energy storage manufacturers. Microgrids, electric vehicles, and utility-scale renewables will require energy storage solutions that can scale with them to serve utilities, commercial buildings, and more. Getting ahead of the curve in design and technology to reduce the footprint of energy storage will help energy storage companies stay ahead of the competition, and reexamining the power and cooling technologies that power these systems is a great place to start.