Lithium-ion Batteries Account For 70.4% Of The First Round Of Projects Under The UK's Long-Duration Energy Storage Capacity Facility,

 

Lithium-ion batteries account for 70.4% of the first round of projects under the UK's Long-Duration Energy Storage Capacity Facility, with 28.7 GW of capacity required to meet an eight-hour minimum duration requirement.

 

The UK's Office of Gas and Electricity Markets recently announced the first shortlist of projects for the Long-Duration Energy Storage Capacity Facility, comprising 77 projects totaling 28.7 GW. All projects must provide at least eight hours of energy storage. By technology, lithium-ion battery energy storage systems dominate the market with a 70.4% share of capacity, followed by pumped hydro with 16.0%. Hybrid vanadium flow battery and zinc battery projects account for 9.1%, pure vanadium flow battery projects for 3.1%, and the remainder comprised of liquid air hybrid systems and compressed air storage.

 

In the hybrid energy storage sector, developer Frontier Power's 16 vanadium-zinc hybrid battery projects totaling 2.6 GW utilize vanadium battery technology from Invinity Energy Systems and zinc battery technology from Eos Energy Enterprises. Meanwhile, energy storage developer Field has five battery projects totaling 1.6 GW shortlisted, while Fidra is partially advancing its Thorpe Marsh project. Utility company SSE's Coire Glas pumped hydro storage project in Scotland was also selected.

 

As lithium-ion battery costs decline, their economic viability has become feasible for 10-hour applications. According to data from the research firm Sightline Climate, the global pipeline of long-duration energy storage projects reflects this trend. Mark Horley, Senior Policy Manager at the UK's Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (OGEM), will discuss the next steps for implementing this capacity mechanism to ensure the long-term stability of energy storage assets at the UK and Ireland Battery Asset Management Summit, held in London on October 14-15, 2025.