Creating new ways to produce energy in a sustainable fashion has created an abundance of business opportunities in the important area of energy storage. In fact, the future of renewable energy relies directly on the strength, quality, and longevity of energy storage technologies. These storage options include batteries, thermal, mechanical, and more.

The Center of Innovation works as an advisor to companies making advancements in storage, which is impacting energy distribution and transmission systems (the smart grid), the reliability and availability of energy resources to a wider range of consumers, and energy consumption in electric vehicles and other widely used products. Georgia Power will operate 80 megawatts of battery energy storage alone.

Continued advancements in energy storage technology promise to have world-changing effects on the auto and energy industries as well as commercial and residential energy consumers. For example, technologies related to lithium-ion batteries are expected to significantly increase storage capacity in the next decade and make electric vehicles more cost-competitive with automobiles operating with internal combustion engines. Also, Georgia’s and the United States’ power grids can be strengthened, reducing the cost of meeting peak demand, and facilitating feeds from wind and solar generators. 

Universities are working in conjunction with energy companies to create microgrids as a way to have clean energy in the near future.

The Center of Innovation assists businesses focused on energy storage in two primary ways.

• We work closely with Georgia’s universities to identify cutting-edge research regarding energy storage and provide companies with access to the latest applied research.
• We connect companies to universities, suppliers, communities, and other key resources to advance energy storage capabilities.