The Lazard Levelized Cost of Storage (LCOS) Survey is the most comprehensive survey of project costs in the industry, with over 120 companies participating last year.

As expected, the LCOS shows that costs are coming down across most technologies and use cases, with expectations for sustained cost reductions in the next few years. This is showcased through the continued cost reductions of lithium ion batteries, the introduction of promising new technologies such as flow batteries into commercial production, or the revitalization of existing technologies like lead through the adoption of carbon nanoparticles to enhance capability.

Cost reduction trends vary across technologies, highlighting a partial lack of standardization in costing and configurations. As we are still in the early commercial stage of technical development, these trends are expected to continue through improved material sourcing and manufacturing improvements. “Soft Costs” – deployment and operating expenses are expected to be significant areas of cost improvement going forward.

These falling costs hold the promise of opening up extensive new markets in the coming years – especially for the combined use cases that can greatly enhance the value of deployed storage assets.

Based on Enovation Partner’s current research into the C&I market, these cost reductions of storage assets are a key determinate for adoption. Based on a survey of 500 energy management decision makers, 20% of or respondents seriously considered adopting energy storage systems on site, but did not implement a deployment—with 80% citing economics being the dominant motivation for decisions.

For more information contact: Daniel Gabaldon