Technologically open business models can benefit particularly from the growth of international storage markets, and flexibility is becoming a key factor for success. Florian Mayr, partner and storage expert of management consultancy Apricum, will present this thesis in a keynote speech at the Energy Storage Europe Conference 2017.
Supply of control energy
“Today the storage markets are still comparatively small and characterised by individual, often geographically determined application cases. They are subject to strong change and are dependent on the current challenges and regulatory conditions in the respective country,” says Mayr. However, he believes that storage units are rarely without alternative. Instead, they often compete with other solutions for the same energy management tasks. These tasks include grid expansion with limited cable capacities or the supply of control energy, which, until recently, took place mainly by means of fossil power plants.
Get along with market uncertainties
Hence, Mayr believes that in addition to major opportunities, the path to the expected mass market for energy storage units also contains numerous uncertainties for the currently operating companies: “They need to ask themselves which of the currently competitive application cases will still exist in future and which new ones will arise. There is also the question regarding with which business models one’s own company can best participate in the projected growth.”
Flexibility as success factor
On this basis, according to Mayr, it is not necessarily the optimal command of a certain storage technology that opens up the best market access, but rather flexibility: “Those who are able to adapt quickly to many new applications cases and customers, and to use the suitable technologies in each case, make themselves as independent as possible from the uncertainties in a market environment that is still very dynamic. And at the same time, they can gain the best benefit from new opportunities,” says Mayr in summary of his thesis.
More than 240 lectures
The International Renewable Energy Storage Conference (IRES 2017) and the Energy Storage Conference (ESE) offer a total of more than 240 lectures on economy and finances (ESE) as well as science and social politics (IRES). Around 180 exhibitors are expected at the accompanying Energy Storage Europe Expo. The international network of the Energy Storage conferences and exhibitions grew again last year. The overall number of visitors of Energy Storage China, Energy Storage North America, Energy Storage Japan and Energy Storage India increased by 55 percent.
Compared with the previous year, Energy Storage Europe 2016 grew approximately 60 per cent to more than 3,000 visitors from 54 countries. Around 140 exhibitors presented themselves. For 2017, a further growth of more than 25 per cent is expected. (HCN)
Related news:
http://www.pveurope.eu/News/Energy-Storage/Energy-storage-our-insight-stories-at-a-glance
