There is a way of telling the energy storage story that centers on the battery — the lithium, the cell and the pack. The story is the visible one, and it is the partial one.
The real energy storage story is broader. The grid that stores by the balancing, the heat that is stored for the winter, the hydrogen that is stored for the season and the geography that stores by the water — storage is the energy transition’s foundation, and the foundation is more than the battery.
The battery as the visible
The battery is the visible storage, and the visible is the beginning.
The battery that stores the solar for the evening and the wind for the calm — the battery is the visible storage, and the visible is the transition’s most visible work. The battery is the fast, the flexible and the deployable, and the deployable is the daily balancing. The battery is the beginning of the storage story, and the beginning is the visible.
This is why the battery matters: it is the visible, and the visible is the beginning.
The grid as the storage
The grid stores by the balancing, and the balancing is the storage’s hidden form.
The grid that connects the regions and balances the supply and the demand is, in a sense, the storage — the power generated where it is abundant moved to where it is needed. The interconnection is the storage’s hidden form, and the hidden is the scale. The grid that spans the geography is the storage that the battery cannot match, and the spanning is the balancing.
This is why the grid matters: it is the hidden storage, and the hidden is the scale.
The heat as the storage
The heat is stored, and the storing is the season’s bridging.
The heat that is captured in the summer and released in the winter, the thermal that is stored in the rock and the water and the building — the heat storage is the season’s bridging, and the bridging is the thermal’s role. The heat is a large share of the energy use, and the storing of it is the transition’s underappreciated work. The heat storage is the seasonal, and the seasonal is the complement to the daily battery.
This is why the heat matters: it is the seasonal, and the seasonal is the complement.
The hydrogen as the storage
The hydrogen is the storage of the long, and the long is the season’s carry.
The hydrogen that is made from the surplus electricity and stored for the months — the hydrogen is the storage of the long, and the long is the season’s carry. The hydrogen can store the energy that the battery cannot — the volume that spans the season, the transport that crosses the distance. The hydrogen is the storage’s frontier, and the frontier is the developing.
This is why the hydrogen matters: it is the long storage, and the long is the future’s bridging.
The geography as the storage
The geography stores by the water, and the water is the oldest storage.
The dam that holds the water and releases it for the power — the hydro is the geography’s storage, and the geography is the oldest. The pumped hydro that raises the water when the power is cheap and releases it when the power is needed — the pumped is the battery at the scale of the mountain. The geography is the storage that the earth provides, and the providing is the scale.
This is why the geography matters: it is the oldest storage, and the oldest is the scale.
The portfolio of the storage
The storage is the portfolio, and the portfolio is the foundation.
The battery for the daily, the grid for the regional, the heat for the seasonal and the hydrogen for the long — the storage is the portfolio of the complementary, and the complementary is the foundation. The transition needs all the forms of the storage, and the need is the portfolio. The storage that is only the battery is the storage that is incomplete; the storage that is the portfolio is the storage that the transition is built on.
This is why the portfolio matters: it is the foundation, and the foundation is the transition.
The honest conclusion
The energy storage story is bigger than the battery, and the bigger is the foundation.
The battery as the visible, the grid as the storage, the heat, the hydrogen, the geography and the portfolio — the storage is the energy transition’s foundation, and the foundation is the portfolio of the complementary.
The battery is the visible story, and the visible is the beginning. The grid, the heat, the hydrogen and the geography are the storage that the battery alone cannot provide, and the providing is the foundation. The energy transition is built on the storage — the daily balanced by the battery, the regional by the grid, the seasonal by the heat and the long by the hydrogen. The storage is the portfolio, and the portfolio is the foundation. The energy storage story is bigger than the battery, and the bigger is the transition’s real foundation.