Why UK firm Superdielectrics is hailing an energy storage breakthrough

According to a 2023 report from the Royal Society, the UK will require up to 100 Terawatt-hours (TWh) of storage by 2050, equivalent to more than 5,000 Dinorwig pumped hydroelectric dams. The majority of that figure will be long duration storage, expected to take the form of hydrogen and advanced compressed air energy storage (ACAES), technologies still in their relative infancy. In the shorter term, there is also huge demand emerging for rapid-response battery storage.

To decarbonise Britain’s grid – something the Conservatives are targeting by 2035 and Labour by 2030 - hundreds of gigawatt hours of this type of storage are needed. But this battery boom is not without consequences. There is already widespread concern over the environmental impact the pursuit of battery materials is having, a pursuit only set to intensify as electrification ramps up. The cost – to both planet and people – weighs increasingly heavy and is grist to the mill for net zero sceptics.