NA, Western Europe & APAC Accounted for 74% of DESS Industry

A new report from Navigant Research provides an update on the market drivers, challenges, key trends, and growth projections for the global DESS industry

A new report from Navigant Research provides an update on the market drivers, challenges, key trends, and growth projections for the global distributed energy storage system (DESS) industry, including battery energy storage systems, thermal energy storage systems, and remote microgrids.

The distributed energy storage industry, according to the report, saw significant growth during the past 5 years due to several key factors.

DESS is inherently flexible, can be deployed rapidly, have the potential to provide multiple grid and customer benefits, and can generate multiple value streams. In addition, breakthroughs in adjacent digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, blockchain, and predictive analytics, are facilitating the emergence of DESSs as a key enabling technology for aggregated distributed energy resources (DER) solutions that are propelling DESS projects toward economic viability and improved bankability. According to a new report, in 2019, North America, Western Europe, and the Asia Pacific were expected to account for approximately 74.4% of the global DESS market.

“Much of the early success in these regions is the result of financial incentives and government support for energy storage and other DER,” says Ricardo F. Rodriguez, research analyst with Navigant Research. “Incentives and subsidies in each of these three markets, paired with support from utilities, have made DESSs an economical investment for many customers.”

According to the report, utilities around the world are recognising the benefits of DESSs and launching programs to deploy DESSs on their electrical systems. Utility involvement, cost declines, government incentives, and increased solar PV integration are currently the primary growth drivers responsible for increased DESS deployments.

In December 2019, a report by GlobalData revealed that the Energy storage installation among end-users (renewable energy generators, grid operators and distributed generation) is projected to witness larger growth due to smart grid development. The battery energy storage system (BESS) market, which is estimated at 4.9 gigawatts (GW) in 2018, is forecast to reach 22.2 GW by 2023.

Further adding that the economies of energy storage in a wide range of applications, coupled with the falling cost of systems, will likely result in the rapid growth of battery energy storage solutions. Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries are emerging as crucial for energy storage, and the increasing growth of EVs has resulted in advancements in lithium-ion technologies and a steady decline in the prices of lithium-based batteries.