4 Energy Storage Solutions That Will Help The Planet Achieve Net Zero

By Katharine Rooney

In its recent tally of what it will take for the world to reach net zero, the consulting giant McKinsey describes a “fundamental transformation of the global economy” – one that requires investing just over $9 trillion a year for decades. Decarbonizing the energy supply is a significant and complex part of the transformation. We’ll need a range of solutions, including energy storage, which has emerged as a priority in recent years, a companion to the widespread use of renewables and the expansion of local electricity grids.

We’ll also need a lot more storage. In fact, for the world to remain on track to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on energy, the sector needs double-digit growth, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), because of storage’s ability to compensate for the intermittent nature of renewable sources and to respond rapidly to fluctuating demand.

Energy storage growth should come from four technologies, each offering a different path to net zero.

1.    Hydrogen

Renewable energy can be converted to hydrogen, stored until it is needed, and then reverted to electricity on demand.

The Advanced Clean Energy Storage Project in Delta, Utah, aims to be the world’s largest renewable energy storage facility, helping decarbonize portions of Utah and California.

One of hydrogen’s advantages is its scalability, particularly as an enabler of long-term seasonal storage. In the western states, for instance, there is often a large renewable energy surplus in the spring, when a combination of strong winds, sunlight and cool temperatures can lead to an excess equal to hundreds of thousands of megawatt hours.

In Utah, Mitsubishi Power, a power solutions brand of MHI, is a partner in the Advanced Clean Energy Storage Project, where utility scale green hydrogen will be produced and stored in underground salt caverns. The project aims to be the world’s largest renewable energy storage facility, capable of helping decarbonize portions of Utah and California.

Elsewhere, east of the British Isles in the North Sea, vast offshore wind farms often generate excess energy. There are already a number of projects in development to harness that energy, including the Hamburg Green Hydrogen Hub in Germany, which will produce hydrogen from wind and solar power.

The Hydrogen Council, a global partnership consisting of nearly 100 leading companies, says that hydrogen could enable the widespread deployment of renewables by converting and storing more than 500 terrawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity.

2.    Synthetic fuels

Power-to-fuel technology enables excess energy from renewable sources to be stored as synthetic fuel, such as methanol, which can be produced from green hydrogen and captured CO₂. That makes it a net carbon-neutral fuel, for which demand is growing rapidly: The global methanol market is expected to have a compound annual growth rate of 4.6% to 2027.

The European Union’s Take-Off project aims to use synthetic fuels in aviation as a replacement for fossil fuels while electric and hydrogen-powered aircraft are being developed.

Methanol is being positioned as a vital emissions-reduction tool for the transportation sector in China. By 2024, there could be 50,000 methanol-powered cars, trucks and buses on the country’s roads. In Europe, ferry line Stena has introduced the world’s first methanol-driven ferry, by adapting its existing fuel systems and engines.

Because synthetic fuels are easy to store and require little infrastructure investment, they have an important role to play in creating a net-zero transport future. Mitsubishi Power is working on the development of several synthetic fuels, including liquid methanol and dimethyl ether (DME), a clean-burning, non-toxic alternative to diesel.

Mitsubishi Power is also a partner in the European Union’s Take-Off project, which is aiming to use synthetic fuels in aviation as a replacement for fossil fuels in the near term, while electric and hydrogen-powered aircraft are developed at scale.

3.    Power-to-mobility

A growing awareness of the need to decarbonize, alongside government policies on phasing out the internal combustion engine, has boosted the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). In 2021, EV sales reached 6.6 million, three times what their market share had been two years earlier, according to the IEA.

In addition to creating fewer emissions, EVs can store surplus electricity each time they are charged, feeding power back into the grid to make up shortfalls at times of high demand. With more and more electric charging stations added to roadsides, homes and commercial real estate, utility companies will be able to use any excess electricity even more efficiently.

4.    Batteries

Advances in lithium-ion battery development are expected to boost storage, allowing batteries to soon power thousands of homes. Storing an electrical charge in tanks of liquid electrolytes allows lithium-ion technologies to be scaled up as needed as a source of back-up energy to the grid.

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As part of a project to see whether clean, distributed energy can offset an increasing demand for electricity and help balance the grid, Mitsubishi Power is implementing battery energy storage in Orange County, California. Energy storage systems like this could one day be used in multi-unit apartment buildings – helping us to move closer to a future of energy-saving, low-carbon cities.

About the author

Katharine Rooney has over 20 years of international experience as a journalist for major news media. Her areas of expertise include energy, infrastructure, sustainability and emerging technology.