Where do we store energy? We went to find out (and managed to store it all in half an hour)

INESC TEC Science Bits – Episode 45

Link to the episode (Portuguese only)

Where do we store energy? We went to find out (and managed to store it all in half an hour)

Guest: Ricardo Silva, INESC TEC researcher

Keywords: Energy Storage, Renewable Energy, Decarbonisation

We’ll start with some figures: according to the Portuguese Renewable Energy Association (APREN), between January 1 and August 31, 2024, nearly 83% of all electricity generated in mainland Portugal came from renewable energy sources. In August 2024 alone, said integration in electricity generation was 77.5%.

A year ago, we spoke with INESC TEC researchers Ricardo Bessa and Carla Gonçalves about the forecasting and integration of renewable energy into the power grid – and how science and technology can help address the variable nature of electricity generation from renewable sources.

This time, we focused on renewable energy storage and its role in addressing this variability. The principle seems simple: store the surplus energy production to use it when needed, thus facilitating the integration of energy generated from renewable sources into the grid, ensuring stability, and balancing electricity production and consumption.

What is energy storage? What are the different storage methods? What are the current technological challenges? Ricardo Silva, INESC TEC researcher, sat down with us to discuss these questions – and to talk about the European project SINNOGENES, which aims to decarbonise industry.