Sanaa Industrial and Commercial Energy Storage Cabinet Cooperation Model

Although the energy storage market in MENA is bound to grow, several barriers exist that hinder the integration of ESS and the ramping up of investments. Financial, regulatory, and market barriers need to be addressed via policy tools that lay the foundations for an evolved power market to integrate the deployed ESS.

Energy Storage System deployment in MENA Energy Storage Systems (ESS) play a critical role in the integration of VRE into the power grid, as these systems manage the intermittencies of renewable energy resources and mitigate potential power supply disruptions.

2. Market barriers The single-buyer model (SBM) characterizes MENA's power market structures, with approximately 60% of countries having only one vertically integrated electricity utility14 - the majority of which are State-Owned Entities (SOE).

Create an Energy Storage Alliance in MENA supported by governments and the private sector to foster the development of ESS in the region, by enhancing public-private partnerships. A key objective of this alliance is to foster the development of ESS in the region through experience sharing and standardization.

Electrochemical storage (batteries) will be the leading energy storage solution in MENA in the short to medium terms, led by sodium-sulfur (NaS) and lithium-ion (Li-Ion) batteries.

Pumped hydro storage (PHS) has the largest share of installed capacity in MENA at 55%, as compared to a global share of 90%. Pumped hydro storage is one of the oldest energy storage technologies, which explains its dominance in the global ESS market.