The path enabling storage of renewable energy toward carbon neutralization in China

In the coming years, renewable energy generation and new power systems will become the dominant trends toward alleviating extreme climate change and realizing carbon neutrality. In attempt to absorb significant amount of renewable energy, the new power systems are confronted with rising electricity prices and declining grid stability. To solve this problem, energy storage has emerged as a core component of the power systems in addition to the traditional source-grid-load structure; thus, various energy-storage techniques are being studied. Through comprehensive examination on the cost and industrial foundation of various energy storage methods in China, this paper clarified the advantages of lithium-ion batteries and hydrogen at duration less than 10h and higher than 48h respectively, especially after 2035. After combining with scenario demand in China, three promising energy storage application to support the clean energy revolution are proposed, including large-scale hydrogen energy storage for renewable energy base at Northeastern China, the centralized lithium-ion battery stations for the regulation of power grid, and distributed electric vehicles for user load terminal at developed coastal region. Furthermore, the development status, technical bottlenecks and solutions of these energy storage paths are discussed in detail to indicating the technical paths. Finally, the establishment of an everyone-involved energy storage market is proposed in future scenarios to promote the widespread popularization of energy storage technology and the achievement of carbon neutrality.