Scaling of intermittent renewable energy will require vast energy storage solutions to make best use of low carbon resources and maintain energy security.

Interconnected energy systems as well as energy storage on system and end-use level (i.e. in buildings, factories, vehicles), are enablers for systemic and individual energy resilience, as well as catalysts for many energy-related challenges and opportunities.

In the medium to long-term, demand-side flexibility and virtual storage provided by large energy consumers, as well as a variety of storage types (electrical, mechanical, thermal, chemical), should be employed to decrease the need for fossil-based electricity or thermal generation in this role unless it can be made net-zero compatible by other means.

There is not one technology that is to be found, but instead the right mix of technologies for any specific situation, context, and aim. For this reason, it is of utmost importance to provide knowledge on the vast range of forms to store energy and create the capacities and foundations to identify what needs to be considered in shaping the right mix of technologies to support energy access, a stable, resilient and increasingly decarbonized energy system and means for end-users work towards their desired outcomes (including peak-shaving, maximizing self-consumption, improving the quality of supply, protecting against outages or curfews). The intended use of energy (e.g., thermal process at a specific temperature, compressed air, medical cooling, powering industrial robots) and the available sources are at the core of such effort, as achieving systemic efficiency requires to consider conversion losses, as well as costs, and (critical) raw materials needed to foster a low carbon, accessible, affordable and resilient energy system on the macro-, as well as the micro-levels.