Thermal Energy Storage Market on the Rise: Exploring Market Expansion Strategies

Thermal Energy Storage Market on the Rise: Exploring Market Expansion Strategies

The global Thermal Energy Storage Market is poised to garner significant revenue during the forecast period from 2024 to 2031. Thermal energy storage (TES) technologies provide an efficient means of storing thermal energy and discharging it for later use, thus decoupling energy production from energy consumption.
The global Thermal Energy Storage Market is estimated to be valued at US$ 5.67 Billion in 2024 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 10% over the forecast period from 2024 to 2031, as highlighted in a new report published by Coherent Market Insights.

Introduction to the Market

Thermal energy storage involves the storage of heat or coolth for later use in thermal applications like space heating or cooling. It enables the decoupling of heat generation and use, allowing the user flexibility in sourcing heat from when it is available and inexpensive.

Competitive Landscape

Some of the major companies operating in the global Thermal Energy Storage Market include BrightSource Energy, Inc., EnergyNest AS., Ice Energy, Baltimore Aircoil Company, Inc., Abengoa Solar, S.A, Burns & McDonnell, Inc., and DC Pro Engineering.

Market Trends

Some of the key market trends include growing focus on concentrating solar power plants integrated with thermal energy storage, increasing adoption of phase change materials for thermal energy storage applications, and rising investments in utility-scale thermal energy storage power plants to ensure reliability of renewable energy supplies. The use of phase change materials is gaining traction as they provide higher storage densities and enable storage at constant temperature during charging and discharging cycles.

Future Outlook

The thermal energy storage market is expected to witness significant growth over the coming years, driven by the increasing demand for efficient energy storage solutions and the need to optimize renewable energy sources. Thermal energy storage plays a key role in balancing electricity demand and supply and improving the economics of renewable energy. Looking ahead, widespread adoption of concentrated solar power plants and growing district heating and cooling systems will accelerate the uptake of thermal energy storage technologies. Advances in phase change materials and development of cost-effective stratified tanks are likely to boost the viability of latent heat and sensible heat storage. Rising prominence of renewable energies in the overall energy mix coupled with ongoing research in thermo-chemical storage presents new avenues for market expansion from 2024 onwards. Wider integration of thermal storage with waste heat recovery networks can further unlock new potentials for distributed storage applications through 2031.

PEST Analysis

• Political: Favorable regulations providing financial incentives for renewable energy adoption and integrating storage capacity requirements are encouraging investments. However, delays in policy frameworks pose challenges.
• Economic: Cost competitiveness compared to conventional peaking power plants and opportunity for deferred transmission upgrades are key drivers. High initial costs remain a barrier.
• Social: Growing public and private support for clean energy transition is increasing uptake. However, limited awareness restricts widespread acceptance.
• Technological: Advancement in phase change material formulations, heat exchangers, and integrated control systems are improving efficiency, lifecycle and viability. Further R&D is needed to develop innovative solutions.

Opportunity

The growing demand for reliable and flexible energy systems presents significant opportunities for thermal energy storage systems. The ability of thermal storage to time-shift renewable energy generation for use during peak demand periods can boost the adoption of intermittent renewable sources by addressing the issue of intermittency and complementing peak power needs. This allows greater integration of solar and wind energy into the grid by decoupling generation from demand. As a result, thermal storage can play a key role in helping to meet renewable energy targets set by various countries and regions. By effectively balancing the grid, storage enhances renewables viability and facilitates their scale-up. Expanding district energy networks and growing industrial demand for process heat also present an avenue to increase storage deployment supporting behind-the-meter applications. In regions with abundant solar resources, thermal storage coupled with CSP plants can enable dispatchable renewable power generation, paving way for cost-competitive baseload supply.

Key Takeaways

Growing demand: Rapid scale-up of solar PV and wind farms globally is driving the need for storage to optimize renewable energy usage. This is creating demand for thermal storage to store excess renewable energy production during off-peak hours for use when the sun is not shining or wind is not blowing. Wider push for renewable integration and decarbonization of heating and cooling sectors will further stimulate storage requirements.

Global expansion: With favorable policies supporting renewables in major markets like U.S., China, India and Europe, thermal storage deployment is gaining momentum across geographies to boost overall renewable energy capacity. Ongoing projects in developing countries indicate wider internationalization of the market in the coming years.