The global battery market is on track to sur 1.000 GW of installed capacity by 2040. Countries such as China, the United States, South Korea and are leading this advance with massive investments in technology, innovation and industrial policies.
Brazil, in turn, has a concrete opportunity to participate in this movement — not only as a consumer of imported solutions, but as a protagonist of a strategic national industry. If we have so much potential, why isn't Brazil involved yet?
With a predominantly clean electricity grid, our country is facing a paradox: we have an abundance of renewable energy, but we are faced with the unpredictability and intermittency of sources such as solar and wind. The answer to this challenge already exists: battery storage. It is no longer a technological promise — it is an operational and strategic necessity for the current situation in the Brazilian electricity sector.
O Brazil has unique conditions to develop a national storage chain: it has strategic raw materials (such as lithium and nickel), cheap renewable energy and a growing domestic market. The challenge lies precisely in overcoming technological dependence and creating an environment favorable to investment.
Flexibility that builds trust
Sources such as solar and wind do not generate energy all the time, and not always when the system needs it most. With batteries, it is possible to store excess energy generated at favorable times and release it at times of greatest demand. This simple ability to shift generation over time has profound impacts: stability, predictability and security to the electrical system.
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Without this flexibility, the expansion of renewables risks being limited. With the battery storage, the electricity sector gains resilience and reduces its dependence on expensive and polluting thermal plants — which today are still activated by some companies at critical times to guarantee supply. The advantages of battery storage go beyond predictability. They reduce the activation of thermal power plants, cutting costs and emissions, and improve the stability of the electricity grid, with instantaneous regulation of frequency and voltage.
Furthermore, they respond in milliseconds to load variations — much faster than any thermal power plant — and can be installed at different scales, including close to the load, minimizing transmission losses. With these attributes, batteries make the electrical system more efficient and aligned with the decarbonization goals that Brazil has assumed.
However, the country does not yet have a specific regulatory framework for batteries. There is also a lack of clear economic signals to remunerate the services provided by this technology — such as frequency regulation, spinning reserve and voltage stability. The initial cost, although falling globally, still represents a significant obstacle without adequate incentives.
But how can we transform this potential into reality?
It will be necessary to articulate a strategic agenda that involves capacity and flexibility auctions with the participation of batteries and remuneration for ancillary services, which complement the main generation, transmission, distribution and commercialization services, reflecting the real value of the flexibility offered.
At the federal level, in order to move forward, it will be necessary to create accessible credit via BNDES (National Bank for Economic and Social Development) and climate funds, fostering research and development, stimulating national industry and a decentralized expansion policy, inspired by the successful model of distributed solar generation. In other words, having an “Embrapa das Baterias” — a center of technological excellence — could be a decisive step towards ensuring sovereignty and innovation in this key sector for the country’s energy future.
The strategic use of batteries also opens doors to other fronts: expanding access to energy in remote communities (replacing diesel generators), stabilizing distributed generation, creating skilled jobs and even exporting integrated clean energy and storage solutions to developing countries.
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With a technical potential of over 30 GW in services to the electrical system, storage in our country can be the bridge between energy security, industrial competitiveness and social inclusion. Brazil does not need to wait to be part of this future — it already has the tools and resources.
What is missing is a long-term vision, with structured policies that see storage as a central part of the energy infrastructure of the 21st century. Batteries are no longer ing roles. They are the basis of a cleaner, safer and more efficient matrix. And the time to place them at the center of the national strategy is now.
The opinions and information expressed are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the author. Canal Solar.
