(Credit: Pixabay)With demand for renewable energy constantly rising in addition to implementation of different power technologies, the worldwide compressed air energy storage market is expected to reach $10.3 billion by 2026, according to a report by Global Industry Analysts.
The study says compressed energy storage is the second-most used energy storage approach after pump-hydro systems due to reliability, efficiency and cost effectiveness. Energy storage technologies can be important, according to the report, because of the intermittent nature of other renewable sources such and wind and solar operations.
The compressed energy storage market is estimated to be $4 billion in 2022 and grow by a CAGR of nearly 24% by 2026. Renewable energy integration, which was also analyzed in the report, is expected to reach $5.7 billion by 2026. Grid optimization is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20% over a seven-year period, and it currently accounts for nearly a third of the global compressed air energy storage market.
Compressed air energy storage is similar to pumped-hydro power plants, but instead of using water air or another gas is compressed and stored under pressure in an underground container, according to the Energy Storage Association. When electricity is needed, the pressurized air is heated in an expansion turbine to produce power.
Several large compressed air energy storage facilities exist, including a 290 megawatt facility in Germany and a 110 megawatt plant in Alabama. Those have helped lead to new projects, especially in the US, according to Global Industry Analysts.
As more renewable energy sources are installed, more deployment of energy storage technologies such as compressed air will help drive the industry to make sure renewable energy operations are reliable, according to Global Industry Analysts.
That demand has led to the development of various energy storage projects, including a Texas operation that will use geomechanical pumped storage technology and 200 megawatt solar and battery energy storage system in California. Overall, there are expected to be 20-times more energy storage installations in 2030 than there 10 years earlier, according to BloombergNEF.
Such an increase is necessary to keep up with energy demands and help reach carbon reduction targets. That helped prompt Google and Microsoft to join the Long Duration Energy Storage Council to continue developing similar energy storage markets.
The compressed air energy storage market in the United States is estimated to currently be $1.5 billion and it accounts for nearly 37% of the global market share, according to the report. China is the second largest user and is expected to grow by 24% through the end of the analysis period, with Japan, Canada and Europe expected to see similar increases.
The transmission and deferral segment of the market will reach $3.3 billion by 2026, according to the report.
