The UK government has launched a £28 million research drive aimed at solving one of the biggest challenges facing a renewables-based energy system: how to keep clean electricity
available when the wind stops blowing and the sun is not shining.
The new Ultra-Long Duration Energy Storage (Ultra-LDES) Challenge, announced on Thursday, will fund British companies and researchers developing technologies capable of storing electricity for at least 100 hours — enough to supply homes and businesses for four days.
The initiative is designed to strengthen Britain’s energy security, reduce dependence on volatile gas markets and help put downward pressure on household energy bills over the longer term.
Wind and solar power are now among the cheapest forms of electricity generation in Britain. But their output depends on weather conditions, leaving the grid reliant on other sources when renewable generation falls. Gas-fired power stations remain an important part of that balancing system.
The government argues that storing surplus renewable electricity and releasing it when demand rises could gradually reduce the need for expensive gas generation, while making the energy system more resilient to international supply disruptions.
The £28 million package, delivered through UK Research and Innovation, will focus on two areas with potentially significant commercial implications.
The first is the development of advanced battery systems capable of delivering electricity for more than 100 hours. Many of these technologies have yet to reach commercial scale, giving British researchers and companies an opportunity to establish an early position in what is expected to become a major global energy-storage market.
The second strand will support the development and testing of underground hydrogen storage. Hydrogen could allow large quantities of renewable energy to be held for extended periods and then released when the electricity system needs additional power.
According to the government, large-scale hydrogen storage could eventually reduce overall energy-system costs by between £14 billion and £50 billion between 2035 and 2050.
Science Minister Chris McDonald said the programme was intended to turn Britain’s scientific expertise into practical benefits for households across the country.
“Clean sources of power are vital to meeting our energy needs as a nation,” he said, arguing that successfully storing renewable electricity would improve energy security and help reduce bills in the long term.
Energy Minister Michael Shanks said the ability to store home-produced clean electricity would be essential to building a more affordable and secure energy system.
The programme also has a jobs and industrial strategy dimension. Ministers hope that backing technologies before they are fully commercialised will help British businesses develop expertise, attract private investment and create skilled employment in emerging energy industries.
Jenny Hill, UKRI’s Clean Energy Challenge Director, said efficient and reliable storage would be central to the transition towards a cleaner and more secure energy system, adding that the programme could help position the UK as a leader in the international energy-storage market.
Hydrogen UK chief executive Clare Jackson said long-duration storage would be critical to achieving a lower-carbon energy system while keeping costs under control. She said hydrogen could provide a way of storing renewable power over much longer periods and releasing it when the grid faces its greatest demands.
A separate competition launched under the programme will provide up to £3 million for feasibility studies into electrochemical ultra-long-duration storage. The aim is to accelerate promising battery technologies towards commercial deployment and determine whether they can provide cost-effective electricity to the national grid for periods of 100 hours or more.
The Ultra-LDES programme completes the rollout of the government's £102 million Clean Energy Challenges. The wider programme also includes the £74 million Consumer-led Flexibility Challenge, which is intended to develop technologies allowing electricity consumption to shift towards periods when power is cheapest.
Both initiatives form part of the R&D Missions Accelerator Programme, through which the government plans to invest at least £500 million by 2030 in research and development addressing major economic and societal challenges.
The announcement comes as Ofgem separately consults on proposals supporting 16 long-duration electricity storage projects. Those plans could unlock investment in the first new pumped-storage hydropower schemes to be developed in Britain for more than four decades.
Together, the measures reflect a broader shift in the UK's energy strategy: building more renewable generation is only part of the challenge. The country must also find ways to keep that electricity available when nature is not cooperating.
For households, the long-term prize is greater protection from the price swings associated with imported and gas-based energy. For British industry, the race to develop storage technologies could create a new market at the heart of the country's clean-energy transition. Photo by SFC9394, Wikimedia commons.
