Will energy-storage companies win big?

As the market evolves, we expect a relatively small set of energy-storage companies to win big, taking share away from less cost-effective rivals. In this article, we look at how the cost profile of energy-storage systems is changing and what companies in the sector can do to boost their chances of success.

Are energy-storage systems dropping too fast for inefficient players to hide?

The authors wish to thank Jesse Noffsinger, Matt Rogers, Frederic Saggini, Giulia Siccardo, Willem van Schalkwyk, and Amy Wagner for their contributions to this article. The costs of energy-storage systems are dropping too fast for inefficient players to hide.

Are commercial uses for energy storage economical?

As our colleagues have written, some commercial uses for energy storage are already economical.

Are energy-storage costs dropping too fast?

The costs of energy-storage systems are dropping too fast for inefficient players to hide. The winners in this market will be those that aggressively pursue and achieve operational improvements. Energy-storage companies, get ready. Even with continued declines in storage-system costs, the decade ahead could be more difficult than you think.

Can technology improve energy-storage costs?

There is also a plausible best-in-class scenario in which market-leading energy-storage manufacturers and developers deliver a step change in cost improvement: additional process-efficiency gains and hardware innovations could reduce the cost of an installed system by more than 70 percent (Exhibit 2).

How does global competition affect battery-pack costs?

Battery-pack costs decline by more than 50 percent by 2025 in the base case as global competition intensifies, leading to larger-scale manufacturing, consolidation, improvements in manufacturing processes and technology, and commoditization of products.