The expectation of the storage market in Brazil for 2024 is promising, this is what Zilda Costa, director of Storage Business Development at UCB, said in an exclusive interview with Canal Solar.
For Zilda, director of Storage Business Development at UCB and vice-president of ABGD (Brazilian Association of Distributed Generation), with the increasing insertion of intermittent renewable energies in the electrical sector, such as solar and wind, the importance of storage in batteries for the operation of the electrical system is crucial, including the possibility of meeting the dispatchability criteria of these plants, meeting capacity and flexibility requirements and ancillary services.
The increasingly strong trend of generating energy alongside the load also boosts the storage market. For the director, climate policy issues can be one of the accelerators of the scale of storage using LFP (lithium iron phosphate) batteries and contribute to reducing the use of thermal plants.
“We are committed to holding COP30 in 2025 in Belém, therefore, in 2024, with the of energy storage, we need to reduce the use of thermal plants, the use of diesel and reduce energy injustice with isolated communities in the Amazon”, highlighted Zilda.
What are the main factors that can positively or negatively impact this scenario?
The global demand for lithium for BESS (Battery Energy Storage Systems) even competes with the global supply of lithium for electric vehicles.
This would be one of the points, the lithium production chain. Another point would be the global logistics chain, directly related to the supply of materials. Bottlenecks in this chain directly affect Brazilian industry.
The points that compete positively are basically three, they refer to the factors that drive the use of storage:
- Our pact to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, which is part of the UN 2030 agenda;
- The industry's need for energy efficiency and low-emissions production actions; It is
- Energy autonomy and security of supply for small businesses and homes in cities and isolated communities.
What is the background to storage in Brazil?
For me, the bottom line of storage in Brazil alongside the grid is the need to meet demand.
The amount of energy (power) that the system needs at a given moment can be met by a technology already implemented in several countries, which is large-scale battery storage. Larger systems capable of realizing grid efficiency, that is, saving energy when it is not needed and putting it back into use when necessary.
The lithium-ion battery has a much higher energy density than its lead precursor, in addition to a much longer useful life, increasing the search for off-grid hybrid system projects such as Solar PV+Diesel+Batteries.
There are several types of energy storage, for example, some hydroelectric regulation reservoirs, which work like batteries, as they have the capacity to store the resource at some times and boost at others.
It is important to contextualize that we are only talking about battery storage systems with the chemical composition of LFP.
Are there specific trends or innovations that you consider crucial for the development of this sector in the coming years?
Demands for low greenhouse gas emissions, public policies and regulations will be incentives for new businesses, new demands and investments in technology.
Projects to structurally reduce energy generation costs in the Legal Amazon can boost the sector's development over the next 10 years.
The sector can also count on resources earmarked for decarbonization, which are approved by the MME Steering Committee to reduce the use of diesel oil.
In this way, the project uses a renewable source (solar, green hydrogen, biogas) associated with battery storage.
It is important to mention that battery storage makes it possible to balance hybrid plants (diesel + solar photovoltaic, for example) and optimize the system, reducing costs and % of diesel use.
Another opportunity for the sector would be river mobility with the use of LFP batteries in vessels for the navigability of the Tocantins, Madeira, Rio Negro and Solimões rivers, for example.
What are the projections for the storage market in the short, medium and long term, for the scenario until 2030?
Government incentives and regulation are of paramount importance for investment and growth in this market.
There will be a strategic window for storage, which are capacity reserve auctions, ancillary services auctions, decarbonization programs and isolated system auctions.
It is necessary that the ANEEL write how the batteries will be inserted into the GRID and how to pay for them.
Some international trends could shape the storage sector in Brazil, such as the energy markets in Texas and California.
LFP technology is a mature technology, widely tested around the world, and now requires the attention of electricity sector regulatory bodies for benefits in distribution and transmission networks.
As for residential use, small systems, solar + batteries, their mass use still needs to be motivated by consumer demand, whether in the search for energy security or even the reduction of energy costs.
This (residential) market for me is the biggest market of all, as each house can be a micro energy generation plant with storage.
What are the challenges and opportunities in this scenario?
One of the challenges is the issue of availability, charging and discharging the battery, dispatch. It is an important factor for the application of batteries.
Batteries for electric mobility also face the challenge of recharging. Recharging time, even when using super-fast chargers (which are extremely expensive), is still a challenge.
The availability of these chargers is another crucial factor, as they will need to be installed in all cities and highways, but it will also be necessary to answer who will pay for them or how they will be remunerated.
In of opportunities, I see that the scale potential of the energy storage market has stimulated R&DI (research and development) projects and research at universities in search of new chemicals.
Improving existing batteries and also developing new battery technologies has dominated technology centers.
How do you assess the trend in production and import costs for the storage market in the coming years?
China already manufactures three-quarters of the world's lithium batteries. This scale gives it cost reduction and a significant share of global lithium suppliers.
The challenge remains the same as in some other industrial sectors, local production chain, logistics and competitiveness with imported products.
UCB has a factory in Manaus and Extrema. It produces LFP batteries (portable for cell phones or stationary for storage systems). This is, in itself, a step towards strengthening the national industry.
Some important next steps for Brazil would be the national lithium chain and investment in the local production of sodium batteries.
It's not just a question of price. Local production brings quality assurance in assembly, warranty, after-sales, customer service, training and in Brazil.
We need to invest in energy storage to contribute to part of the solution to several problems in the Brazilian energy sector.
To conclude, I would like to leave just one sentence. We need to make it happen!
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An answer
With the new Accumulator technologies, there will be no medium and long-term impact on energy storage projects.
There are still other options for using Storage, in addition to helping with wind and solar energy capture systems. There is potential to be explored, which makes investment in Energy Storage Systems viable.