Jabil Inc. (NYSE: JBL) predicts that explosive demand for renewable energy will continue to drive aggressive development of innovative energy storage systems for commercial, residential and utility grids in the coming year and beyond.
St. Petersburg, Fla. – January 23, 2024 – Jabil Inc. (NYSE: JBL) predicts that explosive demand for renewable energy will continue to drive aggressive development of innovative energy storage systems for commercial, residential and utility grids in the coming year and beyond.
“The future of the renewables and energy infrastructure markets is bright, thanks to growing adoption of new energy storage systems, improvements in manufacturing and supply chain strategies, as well as continued advancements in battery and energy-storage systems,” said Bill Mitchell, senior business unit director, Renewables and Energy Infrastructure, Jabil. “We are proud to collaborate with leading organizations in the generation, transmission and distribution of renewable energy and smart-grid solutions to help advance these vital, transformative technologies.”
Here are Jabil’s top five predictions for the Renewables and Energy Infrastructure industry in 2024 and beyond:
1. Favorable legislation will drive exponential surge in renewable energy and battery projects:
Since its passage in 2022, the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has boosted the development of clean-energy projects while paving the way for national battery and energy storage system (ESS) development through an investment tax credit. Government incentives will continue to play a large role in fueling the availability of cleantech and renewable energy projects, along with standalone energy-storage systems and grid-scale battery systems. Another anticipated benefit of favorable legislation is an uptick in customized modules with multiple cell suppliers and cell-agnostic battery management systems.
2. Need for supply chain diversity and regional manufacturing will intensify amid rising costs:
In manufacturing, the holy grail is to achieve the lowest landed cost for every finished product. In energy power distribution, cost is measured as dollars per kilowatt hour, so keeping costs in line is hugely important. As a result, there is growing demand for diverse sourcing, logistics, and production capabilities to help reduce the expense of building and transporting extremely large and heavy battery and renewable energy systems. Companies with access to a distributed supply chain with an expansive global footprint will be most effective at working with multiple suppliers and regional facilities located closer to end-customers. Ultimately, this will become the key to scaling volume production of the most cost-effective battery, ESS and renewable energy systems.
3. Increased energy investments will continue to spur rapid market growth and consolidation:
Massive expansion across the entire spectrum of battery energy storage and renewable energy solutions will accelerate at a fast pace over the next several years, bringing novel advancements in battery chemistries to life. The results will be increased availability of better performing, safer, lighter and more affordable battery systems to propel solutions that ensure more consistent energy supply and greater power-grid stability. An influx of mergers and acquisitions will follow, eventually leading to significant industry consolidation. During this sector’s unprecedented growth trajectory, it’s crucial to align with engineering and manufacturing organizations capable of speeding and simplifying ESS, battery cell, and module development and deployment.
4. Developments in Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES) will proliferate:
A continued uptick in regionalized energy-storage systems will gain momentum in 2024 and beyond, to address persistent performance gaps caused when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing. To ensure a more consistent, uninterrupted energy supply, improvements in Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES) platforms will advance, making it easier for them to be paired with smaller systems that have shorter discharge times for a more evenly balanced delivery of energy for daily, monthly, seasonal, and emergency energy storage and delivery needs.
5. Demand for specific energy-related skills and expertise facilitates industry collaborations:
The expertise needed to design and build high-performance, affordable battery and energy storage modules is beyond the scope of many traditional energy system companies. Access to high-level assembly (HLA), power engineering, as well as advanced capabilities and integration experience, is a prerequisite to industrializing battery, ESS, and renewable energy systems. Looking ahead, companies will need to acquire necessary skills inhouse or collaborate with external experts to increase proficiency in electronics, power engineering, robotics, connectivity, miniaturization, optics and process automation, along with a growing roster of data-driven tools and AI intelligence.
Jabil’s Renewables & Energy Infrastructure Solutions
Jabil engineers, builds and ramps volume manufacturing for some of the most complex energy storage systems available today. A blend of advanced power engineering, global supply chain intelligence, state-of-the-art manufacturing, and high-level assembly (HLA) empowers Jabil’s customers to speed and simplify ESS development and deployment for a more sustainable future.
About Jabil:
Jabil (NYSE: JBL) is a trusted partner for the world’s top brands, offering comprehensive engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain solutions. With over 50 years of experience across a wide array of industries and a vast network of over 100 sites worldwide, Jabil combines global reach with local expertise to deliver both scalable and customized solutions. Discover more at www.jabil.com.