The African thermal energy storage market is expected to witness a CAGR of over 10%, during the forecast period. Factors, such as growing impetus for renewable energy generation in Africa (like concentrated solar power, increasing demand for thermal energy storage systems in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) application), government incentives for thermal energy storage systems, and advancements in material sciences, are some of the major factors driving the demand for the market studied in the region.

However, the declining battery costs leading to an increase in installations of battery storage and high costs of developing and installing thermal energy storage systems associated with thermal energy storage are expected to hinder the growth of the market in Africa.

Power generation through thermal energy storage systems is expected to be the largest segment by application, with the majority of demand rising from African countries, such as South Africa, Algeria, etc.

Algeria’s energy requirements are heavily dependent on natural gas, which amounts to about 93% of power generation in the country. However, the country has enormous solar energy potential and is planning to release several tenders for renewable capacity creating ample opportunity for the market players.

South Africa is expected to be the largest market for thermal energy storage in the Africa region, due to large deployments of CSP with thermal energy storage, along with increasing demand for backup power for commercial and industrial applications.

Key Market Trends

Power Generation Sector to Dominate the Market

  • Excess energy generation available during low demand time can be used to charge a thermal energy storage system, in order to increase effective generation capacity during high-demand periods, which results in higher load factor for the plants, helping them to generate energy in a stable way.
  • In many African countries, energy storage technology aids the grid operators in managing variable energy generation from renewable, like solar and wind energy. Utilities use energy storage technologies in a range of applications, such as time-shifts and supply capacity, in order to meet the demand-supply gap efficiently, hence, driving the thermal energy storage market.
  • African energy storage deployment is dominated by Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plants, which is the cheapest way to store solar energy over long hours. In 2019, CSP installation in Africa totaled 1,076 MW, an increase of over 200% from 2015. Therefore, it is a stabilizing factor for the energy-supply system and is expected to drive the market during the forecast period.
  • Therefore, Africa holds great potential for growth in the future, as the region has many concentrating solar power (CSP) projects, which include thermal energy storage, installed in countries, like the South Africa and Morocco, in turn, increase the demand for thermal energy storage system during the forecast period.



South Africa to Dominate the Market

  • South Africa’s grid is challenged by increasing demand, due to a growing economy. Therefore, the country is shifting toward CSP with energy storage. Moreover, the integration of renewable generation is likely to drive the thermal energy storage market in Africa.
  • Under South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Program, the government included bidding rounds for CSP plants with energy storage. These initiatives are, therefore, expected to supplement the increasing demand for thermal energy storage technologies, during the forecast period.
  • In April 2019, a 100 MW Kathu CSP plant was inaugurated in the country, which is expected to supply power to 179,000 households over the next 20 years. Moreover, several projects are in pipeline and billions are being invested in the country, to assure continuous power supply. Hence, CSP is expected to meet the demand in South Africa.
  • As several thermal energy storage technologies exist, South Africa plans to incorporate it to add grid flexibility at a low cost and meet the increasing electricity demand, in turn, promulgating the thermal energy storage market in the region.



Competitive Landscape

The African thermal energy storage market is moderately consolidated. Some of the major companies include Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd, Abengoa SA, ACWA Power International, SENER Group, and Engie SA, among others.

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