May 12, 2021
WASHINGTON – Today, the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) welcomes a pledge of €80 million (around $95 million) from the Federal Republic of Germany for the Global Energy Storage Program. This new program is expected to contribute to 100 million metric tonnes of CO2 in lifetime reduced greenhouse gas emissions, up to 1.8 gigawatts in installed energy storage capacity, and contribute $1.6 billion in economic value to participating countries.
The contribution will represent a significant scale-up of CIF’s existing portfolio in the area of energy storage, which is a crucial issue in the global fight against climate change. It will go towards a pioneering CIF initiative aimed at delivering breakthrough energy storage solutions at scale in developing countries.
Dr Gerd Müller, German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, said: "Current studies show that the measures planned worldwide to combat climate change are not sufficient to meet the 1.5 degree target of the Paris Agreement. The international community therefore needs to step up its efforts to achieve the goal of a global energy transition. In addition to the development of renewable energy, investment in energy storage plays a crucial role in this regard. That is why Germany is supporting the Global Energy Storage Program with 80 million euros. However, it is clear that even more needs to be done. Wealthy countries have to further increase their pledges for international climate finance, for example by utilising revenues from emissions trading schemes."
The Global Energy Storage Program (GESP) is the world's largest multilateral investment program for scaling up energy storage systems in developing countries. With the capital envisaged, the initiative seeks to triple energy storage capacity in developing countries, mobilizing up to $9 in partner financing for every dollar invested in energy management systems, policy enhancements, technical assistance, and knowledge sharing.
Mafalda Duarte, Head of the CIF, said: “A clean energy economy is within sight and energy storage is how we get there faster. With leadership from Germany and other nations, we’re deploying storage solutions in developing countries to help generate uninterrupted clean power and improve millions of lives.”
Energy storage technologies are among the most promising tools available to expand integration of renewables with the speed, scale, and efficiency that the climate crisis demands. Amid falling clean technology costs and increasingly favorable regulatory conditions, renewable energy is on the rise but faces a number of barriers, such as intermittency, operational and maintenance deficiencies and insufficient storage durations. Energy storage technologies help overcome these gaps to generate round-the-clock clean power and narrow the global energy access gap.
In addition, many energy storage systems can be deployed rapidly with minimal lead time, offering a clear pathway for developing countries seeking to deliver on renewable energy and energy access goals while promoting low-carbon growth.
To learn more about CIF’s energy storage programming, see our factsheet.
