Urgent Need for Long Duration Energy Storage to Maximize Renewable Energy Potential

## Building Renewables Capacity is Not Enough

### We Need an Urgent Scale-Up of Long Duration Energy Storage

Geneva, July 1, 2025: Accelerating renewable energy is critical for establishing a clean energy future, but it is only part of the solution. Without effective methods to manage intermittency, the transition to renewable energy remains incomplete. This is where Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES) plays a vital role; these storage solutions ensure continuous access to clean energy while adapting to the fluctuations in renewable energy supply and demand.

During London Climate Action Week, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), in collaboration with ERM and leading energy companies, released a new brief titled “Navigating the investment case for co-located long-duration energy storage: Delivering 3x Renewables by 2030.” This publication underscores the necessity of scaling LDES technologies to fully harness the potential of renewables. LDES can store excess renewable energy for periods of high demand and low supply, making it a powerful hybrid solution essential for maintaining a steady, reliable energy supply while reducing emissions.

As we strive towards high-renewable grids, LDES offers the flexibility needed to create a resilient, decarbonized energy system, which is expected to impact energy costs, procurement models, and carbon accounting significantly. WBCSD members are already showcasing the effectiveness of collective business actions to advance these solutions, demonstrating that industry leadership can accelerate the transition to smarter, cleaner energy systems.

— Celine Le Goazigo, Energy Lead at WBCSD

This new brief is intended for business development teams, investors, senior decision-makers, and government agencies. Here are the key takeaways:

1. **Overcoming Barriers to LDES Deployment**: The brief outlines the significant challenges businesses encounter when scaling LDES technologies and suggests actions to address these issues.

2. **Importance of Co-location**: Combining LDES with renewable energy presents an opportunity for businesses to secure reliable energy generation and contributes to building a more resilient energy infrastructure for the future.

3. **A Call for Bold Action**: The brief encourages businesses, policymakers, and regulators to rethink their approaches to energy storage and renewable energy. By incorporating LDES into business strategies and policy incentives, we can make substantial progress towards sustainability and climate objectives.

4. **Policy and Financial Recommendations**: To unlock LDES’s full potential, the brief urges policymakers to create favorable policies and incentives that make LDES projects more attractive, and encourages investors to integrate these solutions into their investment strategies.

The brief provides insights for businesses on incorporating LDES into their investment or procurement strategies and offers guidance for policymakers on establishing conditions that foster investment in these technologies. Specifically:

– **Business development teams** can utilize this brief to identify new revenue streams, enhance the value of renewable projects, and expedite co-located LDES opportunities within their renewable portfolios.

– **Investors** should evaluate how LDES can add long-term value to their energy portfolios and explore new, diversified revenue streams while supporting grid resilience and ESG goals.

– **Senior decision-makers** in companies ought to integrate LDES into their business strategies by assessing its potential to reduce Scope 1–3 emissions, mandating internal reviews of LDES eligibility within their portfolios, and demonstrating corporate leadership by participating in initiatives that promote LDES visibility.

– **Governments and regulators** must urgently define LDES within legal frameworks, eliminate regulatory barriers to co-location (such as grid connection constraints and taxation), and align incentives with system value. They should also establish national targets for LDES in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), simplify permitting processes, and mainstream supportive tools like 24/7 Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), time-stamped Guarantees of Origin (GO), and Contracts for Difference (CfD) tailored to LDES.

LDES is essential for achieving a cost-effective net-zero power sector, enabling efficient utilization of variable renewable generation by minimizing curtailment and displacing dispatchable capacity and generation. These savings in infrastructure and operational costs can lower electricity supply expenses and accelerate the broader decarbonization of the energy system.

— Foaad Tahir, Associate Partner and Smart Energy Systems Lead at ERM

By facilitating the large-scale integration of renewable energy sources, LDES is crucial for meeting the global goal of tripling renewables, aiding businesses in managing intermittent energy supplies, and providing a reliable, low-carbon energy alternative. Companies and investors that take the lead in LDES deployment will not only make significant contributions to a sustainable future but will also be well-positioned to capture long-term value, drive innovation, and solidify the business case for renewables. LDES serves not just as a technical solution but also as a strategic enabler of the energy transition.