What is the price of large-scale energy storage vehicles

A potential capacity and cost comparison is conducted for each pathway, and it is concluded that EVs can achieve large scale energy storage effectively addressing the issue of intra-day power imbalance caused by the high penetration of variable renewable energy.

The lifecycle cost of storage can be presented in different ways, including discounted cost items corresponding to net present value (RMB/kW), annualized costs throughout the lifetime of application (RMB/kW or RMB/kW-yr) and levelized cost of storage (LCOS, RMB/kWh).

It concludes that the development of EVs is the fundamental driver for making substantial cost reductions in energy storage. Large scale investment in EVs and the purchase of these vehicles can also offer an energy storage solution in a cost-efficient way, as the potential capacity for storage increases with the number of EVs.

EV storage will not be significantly reduced by car sharing. With the growth of Electric Vehicles (EVs) in China, the mass production of EV batteries will not only drive down the costs of energy storage, but also increase the uptake of EVs. Together, this provides the means by which energy storage can be implemented in a cost-efficient way.

Given the concern on the limited battery life, the current R&D on battery technology should not only focus on the performance parameters such as specific energy and fast charging capacity, but also on the number of cycles, as this is the key factor in realizing EV storage potential for the power system.

Currently, RB offers the most cost-efficient way of storage among three EV storage pathways, but both V2G and BS show larger potential cost reduction. This is because the fast reduction of EV battery costs and the limited cost reduction potential of RB.