How hard does a least-cost zero-emission German grid cycle its storage, and does the levelised-cost map survive that use?
research/energy-lcos-realised
How hard does a least-cost zero-emission German grid cycle its storage? Batteries about 1,700–1,900 h a year (near the assumed 2,000), cavern hydrogen only 719 h, which more than doubles its LCOS to $864/MWh.
What it found
Reads the actual dispatch of the sourced one-node PyPSA German system (energy-mix-sourced, 2030 costs, 2019 weather) and re-prices storage at that use instead of the assumed 2,000 discharge hours and $10–100/MWh charging. Li-ion is used close to the assumption (10–14 h long, 122–180 cycles, 1,717–1,865 h a year, EUR 31–38/MWh charging), so its LCOS rises only 9–19% ($197 to $231/MWh at 14 h). The cavern hydrogen store runs 719 h a year (2.6 cycles, 280 h long), so its LCOS is $864/MWh against $383 at 2,000 h; LCOS falls about tenfold between 300 and 4,000 h a year. The ranking of technologies at each store's duration is unchanged. Limitations: one weather year, one node, planner shadow prices rather than market prices, cycle life and fade still the assumed energy-lcos values.
A figure from its own output
Paper, code and results
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Produced with AI assistance (Claude). Results are from the code in this repository and are simulated or stylised unless the abstract says otherwise; nothing here implies affiliation with or endorsement by any lab, researcher or company cited. MIT licensed.