Electrical Energy Storage: Technologies

Till about a few years ago, we thought that electricity cannot be stored and needs to be consumed as and when it is generated. Times are changing; today electricity can be stored in megawatt scale thanks to developments made in storage technologies and solutions. These electricity energy storage (EES) applications are increasingly becoming viable around the world. The smart grids are expected to be the biggest achievement of the 21st century! And energy storage technologies are going to be an important part of it. Energy storage technologies encompass a large set of diverse technologies. They are broadly classified into mechanical, electro chemical, chemical, electrical and thermal energy storage systems. Electrical energy storage (apart from pumped storage hydropower) is still a peripheral part of the power generation infrastructure. However, the advancing use of renewable energy is changing the perception of storage and has lead to significant increase in interest towards energy storage. The developments over the last ten years have brought a range of new storage technologies to the brink of commercialization.