Energy storage examines different applications such as electric power generation, transmission and distribution systems, pulsed systems, transportation, buildings and mobile applications. For each of these applications, proper energy storage technologies are foreseen, with their advantages, disadvantages and limits. As electricity cannot be stored cheaply in large quantities, energy has to be stored in another form (chemical, thermal, electromagnetic, mechanical) and then converted back into electric power and/or energy using conversion systems. Most of the storage technologies are examined: batteries, hydrogen, super capacitors, SMES, flywheels, CAES, thermal storage and hydraulic gravitational storage.

Yves Brunet is with INP Grenoble, France.