Essential research for anyone addressing one of the key challenges of today's energy market - storing renewable energy.

Report Contents.

-Storage solutions for renewable energy providers.
-Overcoming intermittence.
-Legacy energy storage solutions find a new market.
-Biofuels versus hydrogen fuel cells in the automotive sector.
-Energy storage within 'Urban Heat Islands'.

Approximately 900 KWh of solar energy falls on each square metre of Europe and the USA each year. However this energy is diffuse and intermittent and tends to arrive and accumulate in the wrong place at the wrong time.

High energy prices are supporting the growth of renewable energy solutions, which in turn are stimulating the market for a wide range of energy storage technologies that can be deployed to overcome the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources.

Oil and coal are themselves stores of energy and bio fuels and hydrogen have the potential to move into this space. As in the early days of the oil industry, players with the infrastructure to store and distribute energy will dominate the renewable energy sector.

Bio fuels and hydrogen fuel cells will fight each other for market share within the automotive sector while fuel cells will also carve out a niche market within the residential energy sector.

This report examines the opportunities for technology vendors and nextgen energy companies in the renewable energy storage market. Also considered is the business case for energy storage and distribution within 'Urban Heat Islands'.

Companies in this report include:-

D1 Oils, Wind Hydrogen, Ballard Power Systems, Ooms and Pentadyne.

Technologies examined in this report include:-

Hydro storage, phase change materials, rock and water based geothermal systems, batteries, fuel cells, biofuels as energy stores, compressed air and flywheels.

Who should purchase this report:-

-Urban planners.
-Infrastructure developers.
-Next generation energy providers.
-Power generators.
-Organisations active in the renewable energy market.
-Organisations with carbon reduction strategies.
-Investors.
-Energy strategists and policymakers.

Approximately 900 KWh of solar energy falls on each square metre of Europe and the USA each year. New York and London receive in excess of 1000 TWh of solar energy per annum. However, this energy is diffuse and the majority of it is received at times when people are trying to cool rather than heat their homes and offices. Nearer the equator the solar energy available per square metre is far higher than 900KWh per annum - however local demand for this energy is lower than it is outside of the solar belt. While wind energy is available outside of the solar belt and during darkness hours it, like solar energy, is intermittent. Therefore, it is important when considering the wide scale use of renewable energy, to find a way of storing that energy. Then it can be transported from one region to another and deployed in a way that overcomes the intermittent supply of renewable energy.

All supplies of energy, regardless of their source, are potentially intermittent. Oil is extracted in parts of the world that are politically unstable and gas supplies are vulnerable to technical and political disruptions that affect distribution. At the same time, public reaction to a single incident at a nuclear power station can result in several months of disruption while the plant remains off line. But conventional energy providers have access to long supply chains that provide a buffer against irregular supply. A retailer using wind turbines to provide power must place the turbine close to its store and when the wind stops blowing the power supply is cut. Meanwhile the same store can receive an uninterrupted supply of electricity generated in oil-powered power stations. Even if supplies of oil are disrupted there is usually enough fuel in the supply chain to power the store until the flow of oil can be restored.

However, in its infancy, even the oil industry suffered from intermittent supplies. Barrel suppliers and storage tank manufacturers, who solved the storage problems were well rewarded. One of the ways companies such as Standard Oil manoeuvred themselves into such strategic positions within the oil industry was by lengthening supply chains. Companies who can lengthen the alternative energy supply chain will be equally well placed as the market for new sources of energy develops.

Also considered is the business case for energy storage and distribution within ‘Urban Heat Islands'. Cities provide an interesting example of the potential of stored renewable energy. The solar energy and heat created by activities within cities is temporarily locked into physical infrastructure such as roads and buildings. This report examines a scenario that could provide companies, that are able to unlock this energy, with robust business models and revenue streams.