Comprehensive Service-Centric Analysis of Storage Technologies Reveals Growth Opportunities in Battery Market

Lux Research, a leading provider of tech-enabled research and advisory services about technology innovation, has compiled the first service-centric analysis of the long-duration energy storage market. This new Lux report, "Defining and scouting long-duration energy storage," establishes a new framework for segmenting the market that provides structure and clarity for evaluating current and future technologies and reveals growth opportunities in the battery market.

As more renewable energy is deployed, and stationary storage project owners demand more flexibility from their assets, long-duration energy storage is increasingly seen as a promising solution. However, in a market that often lumps together any technology with storage that lasts "for more than four hours," assessing solutions is a challenge. With this report, Lux combines a meaningful market segmentation, an assessment of how technologies perform, and a new model that calculates the costs of multiple solutions to determine the best technology fits for key applications.
"Applications, not technology, are the true driver of project specifications," said Tim Grejtak, energy storage analyst at Lux Research and author of this report. "Defining what these long-duration storage applications really are, and how technologies perform in these applications, is the key to properly evaluating which technologies and companies are ahead of their peers."
As part of the report, the Lux team breaks down the long-duration energy requirements for five key services: peaker plant replacement, renewables integration, microgrid energy storage systems, renewable energy backup, and seasonal energy storage.
The report then uses a new model to compare the costs of deploying different technologies in each of the key services. The result is a map of the lowest-cost energy storage technology for each use case, and a framework for assessing current and future needs and opportunities.
Key findings from the framework include:

• Energy storage is a competitive market with multiple technologies to choose from for the services that are offering the biggest economic value-add now: renewables integration and microgrid support.

• Other applications like peaker plant replacement, renewables backup, and seasonal storage are more sensitive to upfront costs and need lower battery prices to be economically favorable.

• New regulations and business models are paving the way for energy storage technologies that havent seen a lot of deployment, such as flow batteries, and may even present opportunities for battery chemistries like zinc-air, which Lux patent analysis has shown substantial recent interest in.
Lux's "Defining and scouting long-duration energy storage report" goes into greater detail on cost models, application requirements, and operating parameters. It also offers the "Lux Take" on promising companies working to advance the market in each application area.
For more information, download the Executive Summary.

About Lux Research
Lux Research is a leading provider of tech-enabled research and advisory services, helping clients drive growth through technology innovation. A pioneer in the research industry, Lux uniquely combines technical expertise and business insights with a proprietary intelligence platform, using advanced analytics and data science to surface true leading indicators. With quality data derived from primary research, fact-based analysis, and opinions that challenge traditional thinking, Lux empowers clients to make more informed decisions today to ensure future success.