Energy storage has been a hot topic for the microgrid sector and indeed much of the renewable energy sector for the past couple of years. Much of the cost reduction in batteries has been driven by the growing demand from electric vehicles, a market where Tesla has been an undisputed leader. Its success has been such that last year’s announcement of its planned battery Gigafactory seemed to be a catalyst for accelerating battery price reductions as well as a marker that lithium ion battery technology had secured it place as the leading battery technology. 

With this background, it was perhaps no surprise to see a lot of excitement concerning Elon Musk’s casual mention of an upcoming product unveiling of the Tesla home battery for consumer stationary energy storage during Tesla’s quarterly analyst call last Wednesday. Musk mentioned that the designs are complete and that initial production was expected to start in about 6 months. Given that Tesla also mentioned it’s increasing focus on the stationary energy storage business including active participation in tenders and RFPs as well as ongoing discussions with major utilities, it is clear that the company’s ambitions extend far beyond the premium electric vehicle market. Combining these recent announcements with the forecast start of production at the Gigafactory next year makes it clear that Tesla will be perhaps the most critical player impacting battery technology and price evolution in the coming years. 

This ambition will hopefully continue to spur the innovation and cost reductions needed for energy storage to become a mainstream and commoditized product – and if so microgrids and energy consumers will be the big winners.