The commercial battery storage market is expected to show enormous growth, rising from $160.4 million in 2017 to $1.6 billion by 2025. Behind-the-meter battery energy storage systems at commercial sites offer attractive benefits such as peak demand charge reduction, back up, peak shaving and using batteries to participate in the local ancillary grid services market. Solar paired with storage is increasingly becoming attractive due to falling solar PV and battery prices with self-consumption becoming a major driver for decentralised energy. The rise of digitalisation is allowing for value-added functionalities such as electricity aggregation and trade from commercial battery cloud-based communities or virtual power plants (VPPS) to the grid under-balancing markets for ancillary services. Furthermore, the availability of commercial storage increases the attractiveness for customers to enter the demand response market through similar aggregators, further increasing the scope for value stacking. Such functionalities allow for the opening up of income streams to customers as well as enabling suppliers to offer system financing support such as reduced or zero down payment loan, lease or power purchase agreement (PPA) models. The growth of electric vehicles (EVs) in key global markets is also expected to spur the adoption of commercial battery storage because of its ability to stabilise the grid as well as generate additional revenue stream.

The lack of clear understanding and undervaluation by stakeholders coupled with complex customised project solutions which require evaluation of the individual business case is currently a major restraint in developing markets. The commercial storage market relies heavily on incentives such as rebates, tax credits, grants and net energy metering policy revision in order to maintain competitive pricing and a positive investment case for customers against utility power. Significant reductions in upfront costs to customers through innovative business models, combined with the provision of income streams, cost savings achieved through self-consumption, additional cost-saving benefits when combined with EVs and the benefits of a reliable, green energy supply to customers are expected to drive this market forward even before system price reductions have reached levels seen as acceptable for broad-based adoption. The United States is expected to lead the behind-the-meter commercial battery energy storage market due to strong Feed-in-Tariff (FiT)/net metering policies, rapidly declining battery prices, new supporting subsidies, new business models for system finance and high demand charges. Australia, Germany, and the United Kingdom are expected to be the next main markets as commercial consumers look to reduce electricity bills, as well as increase the revenue stream by tapping into individual energy markets.