Battery Storage Costs Fall Below Key Threshold, Industry Report Finds

The average cost of grid-scale battery storage has fallen below a threshold long viewed as the tipping point for widespread utility adoption, according to an industry report released Wednesday. Falling raw material prices and manufacturing efficiencies were cited as the main drivers behind the decline.

Utilities have increasingly paired battery storage with solar and wind projects to smooth out output and extend availability into evening hours. The report's authors said the cost decline is likely to accelerate deployment plans that had previously been shelved as uneconomical.

Some analysts cautioned that supply chain concentration in battery materials could pose risks to the pace of adoption, and urged continued investment in domestic manufacturing capacity. Even so, the report projects continued cost declines through the end of the decade.