Battery Energy Storage Systems: Changing the Global Energy Landscape

Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are changing the global energy landscape. Once considered optional add-ons, they are now grid-critical infrastructure—essential for stabilizing power systems, integrating renewable energy, and strengthening resilience.

Bloomberg NEF forecasts that 2025 will be a record-breaking year, with global storage installations growing by 35%. That’s enough to power tens of millions of homes for hours at a time. Growth is expected to remain strong well into the 2030s, as storage becomes a fundamental enabler of clean, reliable, and flexible electricity systems.

But building capacity alone is not enough. To deliver lasting impact, BESS must advance on two parallel fronts:

1. Policy and regulation – enforceable frameworks that set clear standards for safety, performance, and environmental responsibility.
2. Technology innovation – solutions that can meet the real-world demands of scale, efficiency, and reliability.

Lessons from Texas: Why Resilience Matters

The importance of storage was highlighted during Winter Storm Uri in Texas in February 2021. When the power grid failed, over 4.5 million residents lost electricity, and the economic damage was estimated at nearly $195 billion.

Since then, Texas has rapidly expanded its battery storage capacity—from around 200 MW in 2020 to more than 9 GW by late 2024—making it one of the largest BESS markets in the world.

This shift demonstrates how BESS can:

• Provide local energy reserves during emergencies
• Support the integration of renewable power sources
• Increase reliability in the face of extreme weather, climate shocks, or security risks

For rural and remote communities, storage also ensures continuity of supply in areas where grid infrastructure is limited or more vulnerable.

Regulation: Guidance Without Enforcement

As storage expands, safety and environmental regulations have begun to evolve. In the U.S., however, most standards remain advisory rather than binding. Fire codes and general product rules provide guidance, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recently added considerations around environmental planning and emergency response. Yet there is still no unified federal enforcement.

Some states, such as California and Texas, are moving ahead with their own frameworks, but requirements vary widely. By contrast, the European Union has already adopted a centralized battery regulation with enforceable standards.

Until stronger regulations are established, much of the responsibility for safety and performance rests with technology choices and system design.

Technology Pathways: Cooling as a Case Study

One of the biggest challenges for BESS is managing heat. Poor thermal control can shorten battery life, limit performance, and increase safety risks.

Carrar’s Two-Phase Immersion Architecture is designed to overcome the key limitations of conventional BESS cooling by ensuring thermal uniformity and rapid heat removal.

The Carrar battery cells are immersed in a dielectric fluid that absorbs heat and vaporizes locally as the cells operate. The vapor then condenses back into liquid in a secondary cooling loop, continuously transporting heat away from hotspots.

By keeping cells at uniform temperatures even at high C-rates, the Carrar system ensures consistent performance and longer lifetimes, while also reducing the likelihood of cascading failures, thereby strengthening overall safety and reliability.

This kind of technology has clear benefits across market segments:

• Behind-the-Meter (BTM): Enables smaller, more cost-effective systems for applications like peak shaving and charging depots.
• Front-of-the-Meter (FTM): Supports utility-scale projects by enabling more aggressive cycling, improving project bankability, and simplifying permitting and insurance.

The Road Ahead

The rise of BESS marks a critical turning point in the global energy transition. But achieving its full potential requires more than growth—it demands a combination of robust regulation and technological innovation.

Together, these will ensure storage systems that are not only powerful but also safe, efficient, and reliable. With the right frameworks and innovations in place, BESS can become a cornerstone of cleaner, more resilient, and more secure power systems worldwide.