Insight to Action Accelerator on Long Duration Electricity Storage (LDES) and Low Carbon Dispatchable Power (LCDP)

This report reviews evidence on long duration electricity storage (LDES) and low carbon dispatchable power (LCDP) technologies that can be prioritised for the innovation funding for delivery by 2030/2035. The evidence was reviewed through the following activities:

• Rapid evidence assessment was used to gather a large amount of evidence from the existing literature on LDES and LCDP technology characteristics to allow for shortlisting. This used 42 search strings to gather more than 1,500 pieces of evidence, prioritising over 500 of these.
• Expert elicitation was used to obtain expert views on technology readiness and the key challenges facing technological innovation in this space. 25 workshops were conducted with over 100 participants.
• Whole system energy modelling augmented this evidence by generating insights on the system implications of different technology choices. This was conducted by Energy Systems Catapult using the ESME modelling framework.

The combined process of Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA) and expert elicitation gave rise to longlists of options for LDES and LCDP, respectively, which were then subject to analysis against key criteria:

• Technology Readiness Level
• Technical characteristics
• Current cost and learning potential
• Scalability
• UK competitiveness
• Deliverability by 2030/2035
• Focus and impact of innovation to 2035

Five LDES and five LCDP technologies/technology groups were identified as the most promising for accelerated innovation into the electricity market by 2030-2035. In the long-term, the UK energy system would benefit from both LDES and LCDP technologies delivered at scale. The technical benefits of LCDP are often underappreciated, as these technologies can provide low carbon generation that can support system balancing, especially for intensive industrial uses. Having the capacity to deliver LCDP at scale and in the right locations may allow industrial decarbonisation by replacing some of the flexibility currently provided by natural gas. LDES also offers important system affordances for the overall grid by shifting electricity across hours, days or longer periods, helping to absorb surplus renewable generation and release it when wind and solar output are low, thereby strengthening flexibility and resilience in a high-renewables system.

The report also presented research and innovation opportunities and barriers, as well as risks associated with technology choices.

This research was co-created by UKERC, Energy Systems Catapult and funded by UKRI through Clean Energy Superpower Mission (CESM) R&D Missions Accelerator Programme.