Energy storage steps up: the growing role of batteries on the grid, and the challenge from winter storms

About this episode

The episode discusses the growing importance of battery storage in the energy sector and its role in grid resilience, especially during winter storms.

It’s the hottest sector in the global energy industry right now, driven by rising power demand, the need to back up variable renewable generation, and escalating threats to grid resilience. It is of course, battery storage. Host Ed Crooks and regular guest Amy Myers Jaffe speak with Julian Nebreda, CEO of energy storage systems company Fluence, about why batteries are becoming essential grid infrastructure. At peak hours during the bitterly cold weather that has covered much of North America in recent weeks, batteries accounted for about 1% of US power supply. But even a relatively small share of battery capacity can play an outsized role in preventing outages, Julian says. He argues that batteries are best understood not as replacements for fossil fuels, but as system optimisers: delivering fast-response capacity, stabilising grids and allowing generation assets to run more efficiently. With Amy and Ed, he addresses some of the common myths around batteries’ cold-weather performance, multi-peak demand days and reliability compared with traditional generation. The gang explores the next wave of demand growth for batteries, particularly from new data centres for AI. Julian points…

People in this episode

Host: Ed Crooks

Guests: Amy Myers Jaffe, Julian Nebreda

Topics covered

• energy storage
• batteries
• grid resilience
• renewable energy
• cold weather performance
• data centers
• geopolitical significance

Keywords

• energy storage
• batteries
• grid infrastructure
• renewable generation
• cold weather
• data centers
• AI

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Fluence

Places: North America

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