These Technologies Show That The Future Of Energy Storage Isn’t (Only) Batteries

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If you were to crown a king of storage technologies, batteries make a strong case. Battery storage is dominating the news and showing strong funding and M&A figures. However, many other energy storage technologies are currently in play.

The graphic below shows some of those storage technologies. It also illustrates a significant reason why batteries are not going to have it all their own way.

The energy output capacity is on the x-axis, while the y-axis shows how long a given energy storage technology is generally capable of delivering power for (without being recharged).

While it may be a bit oversimplified, the graph highlights a couple of points that I believe are crucial when talking about the future of energy storage. One is that while batteries are great for many use cases, they would struggle in some scenarios. Secondly, the future of energy storage is one of complementary, overlapping systems and technologies; if the capacity of the different energy storage technologies stays relatively stable in relation to each other, of course.

That is why the future of energy storage belongs to not one but a series of technologies. Something also illustrated by both funding and M&A figures. Below are ten of the technologies that I believe could play a role in the future of energy storage.

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