The ESP Stakeholders Forum and 9th Energy Storage Partnership (ESP) Meeting begins today in the United Kingdom.
Hosted jointly by the World Bank's Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP), as the ESP Secretariat, and the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and Loughborough University, the ESP Stakeholders Forum and Partners Meeting will be held for the next five-days (till June 30) as a series of hybrid (in-person and virtual) meetings.
Day 1, beginning today, the ESP Partners will undertake site visits to the Trent Basin Community Energy Testbed, the hydrogen and medium-duration energy storage facilities in Nottingham, and the British Geological Survey (BGS)' Energy Storage Research Facilities (Nottingham).
ESP is a global partnership organized by the World Bank Group to enable rapid uptake of variable renewable energy in developing countries through the expansion of energy storage technologies. ESP is hosted at the World Bank's Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) and takes a holistic, technology-neutral approach by looking at all forms of energy storage, including but not limited to batteries.
ESP aims to promote international technological cooperation and training to develop and adapt to new energy storage solutions that meet the unique needs and conditions of developing countries. The partnership is also committed to closing gender gaps in the energy storage sector by fostering the professionalization and leadership of women through the Women in Energy Storage (WES) mentoring program in partnership with the Global Women's Network for Energy Transition (GWNET).
The global initiative brings together national laboratories, research institutions, development agencies, and philanthropies.
India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) India's leading industry body focused on promoting advanced energy storage, electric mobility, and green hydrogen in India will be participating in the event. Dr. Rahul Walawalkar, President of IESA will engage on Day 4 of the ESP Partners Meeting which will be held for ESP Partners and World Bank clients only.
He will deliberate on two panels: The Launch of the WG3 Virtual Energy Storage Academy (VESA)'s Three Modules and the ESP Potential Future Deliverables work plan.
ESP Meetings Agenda
On Day 2 (June 27) of the ESP Stakeholder Forum will convene the private sector, and WB client country representatives to share the experience of developing countries in their energy storage journey, and to present the latest on energy storage technologies. The second day will conclude with an open discussion led by the IFC on the bankability features of energy storage projects.
On Day 3 (June 28), all participants at the ESP Stakeholder Forum would be invited to participate in two parallel expositions in Birmingham. The first one is the Battery Cells & Systems Expo -- the UK's largest battery technology exhibition and conference and the Vehicle Electrification Expo, which includes stakeholders from the entire EV and battery technology supply chain. All participants at the ESP meetings (partners, stakeholders, clients, staff, and others) are required to register at both events on their own through the linked websites.
On Day 4 (June 29) will be devoted to the ninth ESP Partners meeting. It will start with a panel discussion on gender in energy storage, followed by the five new ESP Partners presentations on their recent energy storage-related initiatives. In the last sessions, ESP partners will review the latest progress of the seven Working Groups and discuss priority topics and workstreams for the next year.
While this event is exclusive to ESP-Partners, all other participants can attend the second day of the Battery Cells & Systems and the Vehicle Electrification Expo.
Day 5 (June 30), ESP Partners can visit the Tyesley Energy Park, Aceleron's facilities, and the University of Warwick's WMG.
To enable the rapid uptake of Variable Renewable Energy (VRE) in developing countries, the World Bank Group convened the Energy Storage Partnership (ESP)¸ a global initiative
With the objective to support the expansion of the global market for energy storage, ESP supported the mobilization of over $725 million for battery storage projects, channeled through CIFs, Canada Climate Finance Facility, and other climate funds.
Closing this funding gap, the ESP has contributed to over 4.7 GWh of battery storage commitments in active projects, and to 2.4 additional GWh of identified capacity in future pipelines.
