Installed Battery Costs Down 50% in Just Two Years

Battery Costs Down 50% in Two Years; Abu Dhabi Sees Record Low Solar Price; Chinese Company Eyeing 200 MW of Solar to Green Hydrogen; Hydrogen Applied in Steel Rolling

1) BNEF reported battery system LCOEs have declined 50% in past two years, to $150/MWh for 4-hour duration projects. Implies peakers can now be batteries. Battery projects increasing in duration and size: 2015 saw 1.5 hrs of avg duration vs 2.2 hrs in 2020 projects; proj's grew in size from 3 MW to avg 21 MW.

2) Solar's getting cheaper. Abu Dhabi Power saw new record low tariff for solar project, w/winner at $13.50/MWh, (1.35 cents/kWh) beating last yr's record in Portugal of 1.64 cents.

3) As solar gets cheaper, green hydrogen becomes just a little bit more feasible. China's Baofeng Energy Group broke ground on the world's largest solar-powered hydrogen pilot plant, slated to use a 200-Megawatt solar power plant and electrolyzers. Project will cost $198 million and yield 160 million standard cubic meters of H2/annum.

3) A Swedish steel company announced it had replaced LNG as the source of high temperature heat at a steel rolling mill. Using H2 had no effect on the quality of steel. So, one step closer to green H2 in industry. Stay healthy.