Typology of Business Models for Adopting Grid-Scale Emerging Storage Technologies

Electricity grids are nowadays facing various market and technological challenges that influence their reliability and profitability. As a viable solution to those challenges, energy storage technologies provide multiple service delivery along the electricity grid value chain. In addition to their role for penetration of renewables in future of electricity grid, electricity storage technologies possess a number of societal and environmental benefits, such as reducing carbon footprint and securing regional energy demands. The primary challenge for utilities and regulators, however, is to find a business model that best fits to technology, application, and regional electricity market. We propose a typology of different business models for adopting energy storage technologies among utilities. The business model frameworks are tailored to provide a customized analysis platform for adopting emerging energy storage technologies. For industry looking to adapt new energy storage technologies, such analysis can provide multi-dimension considerations (cost, efficiency, reliability, best practice business operation model, and policy instruments), which can potentially lead to complete view for strategic decision making purposes.