Comparison of Different Energy Storage Systems for Stationary Applications Based on Real Cases

Among the different energy storage systems, the electrochemical ones are the most suitable to increase the share of renewable production up to 100%, due to their wide energy and power scalability, site versatility, modularity and ease of use. Few are those available on the market and already used for stationary applications, such as: hydrogen-electrolyzer-fuel cell, lithium-ion, sodium-sulfur and flow batteries [1]. Several studies compare such systems from a technical and economic point of view, but very few are based on real experimental results to show which system provides the best performance in terms of both operation performance and revenues. Thanks to the collaboration with some energy companies that are increasingly interested in the energy storage sector, our goal is to simulate and compare the performance of different energy storage technologies used in real installations over the years in Italy [2-4]. The comparison will not only focus on general parameters such as the cost and the lifetime of the systems, but it will also provide a business analysis to show the actual benefits that each system can bring to costumers. This research aims to provide a comprehensive comparison that can help companies to choose the most appropriate energy storage systems suitable for real needs with a focus on flow battery systems.