At 10 hours, pumped hydro storage and compressed air cost 42–46% less than lithium

In PNNL’s reference database, which uses 2023 values for the United States, duration changes the cost ranking of storage.

Levelized cost per MWh discharged, at 1,000 MW. At 4 hours: lithium USD 174/MWh, pumped hydro storage 186, compressed air 130. At 10 hours: lithium 168, pumped hydro storage 97, compressed air 91. At 24 hours, lithium costs 1.76 times as much as at 10.

The table combines technology, operating assumptions, and site, so it does not say which technology wins in a specific project. It says that duration changes the conditions under which each competes: if the duration the system pays for changes during the asset’s life, the cost ranking may change with it.

With a Capital Projects Decision System, technologies, durations, nodes, and dates are compared under the same representation of the system.

Is your technology competitive at the duration the system will pay for throughout the asset’s life?

The full Perspective, with its sources, is available on request.