Battery storage: Price decline uncertain

12/18/2017 | Print view

Before lithium batteries are used for electric cars they are utilized for stationary energy storage at Enercity in Hannover. - © Daimler — © Daimler

Before lithium batteries are used for electric cars they are utilized for stationary energy storage at Enercity in Hannover.

Battery system provider E3 / DC warns against speculating on a sharp price decline in battery storage. An increasing demand from other sectors could prevent that.

There will be no substantial cost reduction for components of energy storage systems such as power electronics or housing, E3DC CEO Andreas Piepenbrink says. He questions whether price reductions of 20 percent or even more within the next five years will be realistic.

After all, demand from the automotive industry is rising steadily, says Piepenbrink, who himself comes from this sector. Despite the planned expansions of battery production, it would be more difficult for manufacturers of stationary energy storage systems to get batteries. Daimler, VW, BMW and above all Tesla need the lithium cells themselves in the future. (HCN)