Asymptotic Cost Analysis of Intercalation Lithium-Ion Systems for Multi-hour Duration Energy Storage

Summary Lithium-ion battery costs have fallen rapidly, enabling their adaptation for electric vehicle and electricity grid storage applications largely thought impractical a decade ago. However, current costs are still too high to enable low-cost, geographically unrestricted energy storage technologies required for load-shifting storage. Existing industry experience with grid lithium-ion systems gives these batteries an incumbency advantage over other storage technologies. Here, we examine both the performance and manufacturing costs of lithium-ion cells specifically designed for long-duration grid storage applications. We found that by minimizing the balance of cell hardware and using existing, low-cost electrode materials, cells can be manufactured for less than $100/kWh. Although the levelized cost of storage is highly dependent on the use case, an 8-h system cycled almost daily can provide stored electricity at a cost of