Small-scale storage boosts consumer choice
How small-scale energy storage will help unlock a decarbonized future
We know that distributed, smaller-scale energy systems are the way of the future as our communities shift and settlement patterns evolve in a post-COVID world. We also know that consumers globally have a growing desire to live more sustainably. Future Energy Global Leader, Dr Tej Gidda, provides his perspectives on the potential for hydrogen energy storage to power households that are cleaner, greener and more sustainable, while underpinning more resilient, shock-resistant communities.
Our prediction
We predict that in the future, consumers will have access to a variety of convenient options to bring clean power into their homes, with hydrogen energy storage being just one, very real example. Giving people more control over their personal, clean energy consumption will engage everyday householders in our quest to decarbonize. So, while big business and dirty industries rush to clean up their act, small-scale energy storage presents us with an opportunity, in the near-term, to tackle climate change and accelerate the energy transition within our own community.
Introducing the three DS
We believe small-scale hydrogen energy storage has the potential to:
- Fast-track decarbonization as the world looks to pull multiple levers, across multiple sectors, to reduce global emissions
- De-risk aging energy systems and traditional infrastructure that is increasingly susceptible to climate change threats
- Enable a highly distributed and decentralized energy system better suited to changing settlement patterns post-COVID
Multiple concurrent forces are driving decarbonization globally: government pledges, international conventions, changing consumer attitudes and the increasing availability of renewable energy. At the same time, decision-makers are seeking to safeguard their organisations and communities in the face of increasingly frequent and extreme weather events, putting our traditional ‘poles and wires’ power systems at ever-greater risk of failure.
We believe this shift will put a greater emphasis on ‘island’ or off-grid energy solutions that can withstand climate change shocks, particularly within remote or vulnerable communities. This trend away from the conventional utility model will be further driven by new regional settlement patterns post-COVID, as work-from-home arrangements enable us to live away from major urban centers.
Introducing the three DS
Multiple concurrent forces are driving decarbonization globally: government pledges, international conventions, changing consumer attitudes and the increasing availability of renewable energy. At the same time, decision-makers are seeking to safeguard their organisations and communities in the face of increasingly frequent and extreme weather events, putting our traditional ‘poles and wires’ power systems at ever-greater risk of failure.
We believe this shift will put a greater emphasis on ‘island’ or off-grid energy solutions that can withstand climate change shocks, particularly within remote or vulnerable communities. This trend away from the conventional utility model will be further driven by new regional settlement patterns post-COVID, as work-from-home arrangements enable us to live away from major urban areas.
So why hydrogen storage
The intermittency of growing quantities of renewable energy means that storage is required to smooth out the inherent variability of wind and solar. Hydrogen offers that reliable storage solution. Unlike batteries that are unable to store large quantities of electricity for an extended period, hydrogen can be produced from excess renewable energy and stored at volume for a long time. It can catalyse with oxygen to produce heat or be fed into a fuel cell to make electricity, with the potential to provide clean power for domestic use for days. It’s this small-scale applicability of hydrogen storage that really excites us as engineers and stewards of this planet.
Steps to widespread adoption
In supporting our prediction that hydrogen-powered households will be the way of the future, we have explored several key success factors: technology, cost and availability. Firstly, we know that the technology currently exists. Secondly, we know that the cost competitiveness of new technologies improves over time. Case in point, solar, which was incredibly expensive early in its lifecycle but is now the cheapest way to make electricity in the world. We are seeing the same reduction in the cost of production – and cost to the end consumer – happening with electric vehicles.
Thirdly, in terms of availability, in the not-too-distant future we expect to see hydrogen energy storage systems sold at the local hardware store – perhaps in the form of DIY kits that can be easily integrated with rooftop solar – or maybe even sold as a pack! We believe the consumer groundswell for greener, cleaner energy solutions will tip the scales in favour of accessible, affordable hydrogen storage.
Not a silver bullet, but...
Distributed energy storage is undoubtedly a part of our future, as the conventional utility model shifts. Hydrogen storage isn’t the only solution or a magic bullet – however, it will increasingly become an important part of our overall energy mix. What we can say about hydrogen energy storage for certain, is it’s here now and assures to give consumers more control and agency in their energy choices. And that, we believe, is what makes small-scale hydrogen storage a potential game-changer for the global energy transition.