Battery costs have dropped 90% in under 15 years giving renewables a boost, new IEA report reveals

Battery costs person dropped by much than 90 per cent successful nan past 15 years, a caller study from nan International Energy Agency (IEA) reveals.

It’s 1 of nan fastest declines ever seen among cleanable power technologies, and provides dream that batteries tin transportation nan world to its renewable power goals.

While we still thin to deliberation of lithium-ion batteries arsenic a constituent of user electronics for illustration phones and laptops, nan tech is playing an progressively immense portion successful nan power assemblage - which now accounts for complete 90 per cent of wide artillery demand.

In 2023 alone, artillery deployment successful nan powerfulness assemblage accrued by much than 130 per cent. They’re revv-ing up nan electric car takeover too, pinch 14 cardinal of nan vehicles sold past twelvemonth compared to 3 cardinal successful 2020.

“The energy and transport sectors are 2 cardinal pillars for bringing down emissions quickly capable to meet nan targets agreed astatine COP28 and support unfastened nan anticipation of limiting world warming to 1.5°C,” says IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.

“Batteries will supply nan foundations successful some areas, playing an invaluable domiciled successful scaling up renewables and electrifying carrier while delivering unafraid and sustainable energy for businesses and households.”

At nan COP28 ambiance acme successful Dubai successful December, countries agreed to triple renewable power capacity by 2030 and double nan gait of power efficiency, each while moving distant from climate-wrecking fossil fuels.

Batteries are nan linchpin of that ambition, arsenic nan IEA explains successful its typical study connected Batteries and Secure Energy Transitions - nan first broad study of nan full artillery ecosystem.

Why are batteries truthful important?

Since star and upwind energies are adaptable renewables, battery storage is important to smoothing retired nan proviso of energy from these greenish sources.

It tin besides alleviate grid congestion successful times of precocious supply, offering an outlet to seizure and shop excess energy that would different beryllium lost.

To triple world renewable power capacity by 2030, nan IEA calculates that 1,500 GW of power storage, of which 1,200 GW from batteries, will beryllium required.

Batteries tin besides thief execute cosmopolitan power entree worldwide by 2030, enabling 400 cardinal group successful processing economies to summation energy entree done decentralised solutions for illustration solar location systems and mini grids.

What’s needed to standard up batteries?

Growth successful batteries outpaced almost each different cleanable power technologies successful 2023, nan IEA says, arsenic falling costs, invention and supportive business policies helped to thrust up demand.

“The operation of star PV and batteries is coming competitory pinch caller ember plants successful India,” Dr Birol says. “And conscionable successful nan adjacent fewer years, it will beryllium cheaper than caller ember successful China and gas-fired powerfulness successful nan United States. Batteries are changing nan crippled earlier our eyes.”

But artillery deployment still needs to standard up importantly successful nan adjacent fewer years if nan world is to deed our power and ambiance goals.

To do so, wide power retention capacity will request to summation sixfold by 2030 worldwide, pinch batteries accounting for 90 per cent of nan summation and pumped hydropower covering astir of nan rest.

G7 leaders committed to a caller world power retention target connected Tuesday that aligns pinch this goal.

The IEA’s study finds that is achievable if costs travel down further without compromising connected quality.

Ensuring power information besides requires greater diverseness successful proviso chains, including for extracting and processing nan captious minerals utilized successful batteries - and for manufacturing nan batteries themselves.

Global artillery manufacturing has much than tripled successful nan past 3 years, it adds.

While China produces astir batteries today, nan study shows that 40 per cent of announced plans for caller artillery manufacturing is successful precocious economies specified arsenic nan US and nan European Union.