This paper presents a comprehensive review of the most popular energy storage systems including electrical energy storage systems, electrochemical energy storage systems, mechanical energy storage systems, thermal energy storage systems, and chemical energy storage systems.
The different types of energy storage can be grouped into five broad technology categories: Within these they can be broken down further in application scale to utility-scale or the bulk system, customer-sited and residential. In addition, with the electrification of transport, there is a further mobile application category. 1. Battery storage
Electrical energy storage systems store energy directly in an electrical form, bypassing the need for conversion into chemical or mechanical forms. This category includes technologies like supercapacitors and superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) systems.
For enormous scale power and highly energetic storage applications, such as bulk energy, auxiliary, and transmission infrastructure services, pumped hydro storage and compressed air energy storage are currently suitable.
Lithium-ion batteries are the most widely used type of batteries in energy storage systems due to their decreasing cost over the years. As of 2024, the average cost for lithium-ion batteries has dropped significantly to R2,500 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), making energy storage systems more financially viable and accessible for businesses.
Electricity storage systems (ESSs) come in a variety of forms, such as mechanical, chemical, electrical, and electrochemical ones. In order to improve performance, increase life expectancy, and save costs, HESS is created by combining multiple ESS types. Different HESS combinations are available.