Long Duration Electricity Storage investment support scheme will boost investor confidence and unlock billions in funding for vital projects. The UK is a step closer to energy independence as the government launches a new scheme to help build energy storage infrastructure.
Credit: David Pimborough / Shutterstock. The government of the UK has launched a new investment support scheme aimed at bolstering the country’s energy storage infrastructure. The initiative aims to encourage the development of long-duration energy storage (LDES) facilities, which have not seen significant investment in nearly four decades.
We're consulting on the policy framework to enable investment in long duration electricity storage. Long duration electricity storage can provide an important contribution to decarbonising our energy system. For example, it can store renewable power and discharge it during periods of low wind.
Albemarle is the top holding, followed by Tesla, so if you can't decide from the previous stocks, this fund is a good one-stop investment to play the pending energy storage boom. With more than $1 billion under management and about 60 components, this First Trust fund is another interesting and diversified way to play energy storage.
Other technologies, such as liquid air energy storage, compressed air energy storage and flow batteries, could also benefit from the scheme. Studies suggest that deploying 20GW of LDES could save the electricity system £24bn between 2025 and 2050, potentially reducing household energy bills as reliance on costly natural gas decreases.
Another interesting energy storage ETF is GRID, which is focused on alternative energy infrastructure companies such as power management company Eaton Corp. (ETN), industrial conglomerate Johnson Controls International PLC (JCI), and electronics and automation pioneer Abb Ltd. (ABB).