UK research institute The Faraday Institution has detailed in a new report that vehicle-to-grid technology (V2G) could provide 445GWh of energy storage capacity by 2050.
The report dubbed The Role of Hydrogen and Batteries in Delivering Net Zero in the UK by 2050, commissioned by the Faraday Institution and authored by DNV, revealed that V2G energy storage is modelled to play a “significant role” in providing energy storage, with 45GW of capacity expected in 2050 based on the availability of 10% of the battery electric vehicle (BEV) fleet.
V2G technology, according to the report, could complement battery energy storage systems and provide additional services to maintain stability on the grid. The report said: “The technological solutions for V2G battery storage are available, it is expected that the required regulation will be developed in the near term along with the smart meters and smart grids needed.”
In fact, by the mid-2030’s, DNV believes that around 10% of all BEVs will be available to provide grid flexibility at any time via V2G. There are however challenges in the upscaling of V2G with personal vehicles, such as public perception, battery degradation and new business models being required.
The report, which also explores a range of technologies such as battery energy storage, hydrogen and renewable generation, believes that both hydrogen and battery storage can work with one another to support decarbonisation. The report said: “Batteries will take a dominant share of the short duration energy storage requirements. Hydrogen will be used to balance demand over a longer seasonal period.”
“Batteries and hydrogen have distinct characteristics and should largely be viewed as complementary rather than competing technologies,” said Professor Pam Thomas, CEO of the Faraday Institution.
“Both will require significant technological advance and extensive scale up of manufacturing and deployment if the UK is to meet its obligation to reach net zero by 2050. The varying timescales of their rollout leads to considerable uncertainties in predicted market share profiles over time.”
Battery technology could play a vital role in the decarbonisation of the road transportation sector and the power sector whereas hydrogen technologies will “dominate” the manufacturing and built environment sectors before being harnessed for aviation and marine sectors.
In fact, by 2050, the report estimates that the total number of battery EVs will amount to 40 million. The advantages of batteries over hydrogen include higher well-to-wheel efficiencies, lower costs and a more deployable charging infrastructure, the report stated, however, hydrogen powered heavy goods vehicles may be viable for high range or high payload applications.
“As we strive to decarbonise and meet net zero ambitions, the energy landscape will be evolving at a faster pace, with batteries and hydrogen being key contributors to this transition,” said Hari Vamadevan, executive vice president, and regional director UK and Ireland of energy systems at DNV.
“We are delighted to showcase DNV’s unique combination of industry expertise and independent analysis from our Energy Transition Outlook model to forecast the role that each technology will play across the energy demand sectors.”
