EN 
PT_BR 
A recent study released by NewCharge Energy points out that the Brazilian energy storage market is growing and could reach a generation capacity of 18 GWh and a cumulative revenue of more than R$ 40 billion by 2030.
Estimating globally, storage facilities will reach 358 GW by the end of 2030, more than twenty times the 17 GW at the end of 2020, according to a report released by BloombergNEF (BNEF).
Read more: ANEEL approves 1st large-scale energy storage project
There is no doubt, this segment should grow in Brazil and around the world. In fact, more and more companies are investing in battery technologies, such as Moura Group.
Luiz Mello, general commercial director of Industrial Batteries, RSM and BESS at Moura, talks about the company's performance in the storage market, the integration of solar energy with batteries and outlines perspectives for the coming years. Check out the main excerpts from the interview:
Since when has the company been operating in the storage market?
About ten years ago we started investing in the development of batteries for the energy storage market. Shortly afterwards, we decided to invest in studies and hire a specialized team to develop our own energy storage solution.
In 2019, we announced to the sector that Moura developed, in partnership with ITEMM (Instituto Tecnológico Edson Mororó Moura), the first entirely national technology for storage systems. A product with a more competitive price and a robust after-sales structure. Today, the Moura BESS (Battery Energy Store System) is manufactured in our structure, in Belo Jardim (PE), with all development, manufacturing, installation/commissioning and after-sales carried out by our own fully trained team.
What are the main energy storage projects integrated with solar in Moura?
Energy storage systems, despite already being well disseminated in China, USA, Australia and Europe, are in the initial phase of introduction in Latin America and Brazil, with great potential for growth, especially because it has been considered by the MME (Ministry of Mines and Energy) as one of the main pillars of the SEB (Brazilian Electricity Sector) transformation process.
When integrated with intermittent renewable energy generation systems, such as solar, for example, they provide dispatchability to the source. This makes them reliable solutions for balancing demand and generation, especially during peak consumption periods.
With this in mind, Moura invested and maintains a micro-grid in operation, which has a 312 kWp photovoltaic plant, a 560 kWh storage system and a 75 kVA GMG (Diesel Generator Group). The area functions as a major operational and technological demonstrator of the product and is located in Pernambuco, at ITEMM.
How do you see this possibility of integrating batteries with photovoltaic plants? How much does a system that uses such technologies benefit?
We observe this trend with great enthusiasm, as BESS can definitely boost the growth of renewables, which are intermittent, guaranteeing despatchability and higher quality. Furthermore, it will allow the growth of UFVs combined with UTEs in off-grid generation plants, as they have the capacity to modulate the quality of energy generated by photovoltaic panels.
Another great expectation of ours is the growth of the distributed mini generation market with BESS for energy arbitration, allowing group A customers to reduce their electricity costs during peak hours.
Drawing a comparison between 2021 and 2020, was there an increase in the number of storage projects installed in Brazil?
The energy storage market is still in its initial phase in Brazil, with great growth prospects from 2022 onwards. There are still few systems in operation and most of them are the result of R&D (Research and Development) projects resulting from Strategic Call 21 from ANEEL (National Electric Energy Agency), which will contribute decisively to the growth of the segment.
Important regulatory and tax adjustments are underway and will contribute to boosting the BESS business in Brazil in the coming years. Projections indicate that in three years we should already have more than 1 GWh installed in the most diverse applications behind or in front of the meter.
What are the company's prospects for the storage + solar energy market in Brazil? Do you intend to invest more and more? What's new for the coming months?
Moura will continue to invest in the development of solutions for the solar market in Brazil. We believe that storage technology could be a great ally in the growth of clean and renewable sources of energy generation.
We are ready to meet the demands of all applications, in tune with the movement towards the global use of clean energy, mitigating impacts on the environment, increasingly enabling the use of renewable sources, including in isolated systems.
