How do business models of energy storage work?

Building upon both strands of work, we propose to characterize business models of energy storage as the combination of an application of storage with the revenue stream earned from the operation and the market role of the investor.

Can energy storage be a new composite business model?

Due to its flexibility, energy storage should be widely used in competitive models. The spot market is used as the carrier, and the energy storage in each application scenario is uniformly deployed through the shared energy storage business model. It can serve as a new composite business model for energy storage.

Do investors underestimate the value of energy storage?

While energy storage is already being deployed to support grids across major power markets, new McKinsey analysis suggests investors often underestimate the value of energy storage in their business cases.

Is energy storage a profitable business model?

Although academic analysis finds that business models for energy storage are largely unprofitable, annual deployment of storage capacity is globally on the rise (IEA, 2020). One reason may be generous subsidy support and non-financial drivers like a first-mover advantage (Wood Mackenzie, 2019).

What are the emerging energy storage business models?

The independent energy storage model under the spot power market and the shared energy storage model are emerging energy storage business models. They emphasized the independent status of energy storage. The energy storage has truly been upgraded from an auxiliary industry to the main industry.

Can energy storage be commercialized?

Energy storage has entered the preliminary commercialization stage from the demonstration project stage in China. Therefore, to realize the large-scale commercialization of energy storage, it is necessary to analyze the business model of energy storage.