The sixth annual World Energy Storage Day (WESD) was held virtually on September 22 and took place over the course of 24 hours around the globe. The virtual Conference and Expo, organized by Customized Energy Solutions (CES), aims to provide a productive environment for promoting energy storage and cutting-edge technology as we move toward a greener future.

The sixth annual World Energy Storage Day (WESD) was held virtually on September 22 and took place over the course of 24 hours around the globe. The virtual Conference and Expo, organized by Customized Energy Solutions (CES), aims to provide a productive environment for promoting energy storage and cutting-edge technology as we move toward a greener future.

This year's conference, which was supported by more than 30 global organizations, included panel discussions around stationary energy storage, e-mobility and enabling infrastructure, green hydrogen, and manufacturing and supply chain across four global regions: APAC, Indian Subcontinent, EMEA, and the Americas. Technology workshops, partner seminars, virtual tours, start-up pitches, and networking opportunities, were additional highlights of the program. This year's workshops focused on topics like battery recycling, microgrids and social equity, workforce development and jobs in energy storage, long duration energy storage systems (ESS), ESS modelling and optimization, solar + storage, giga factory supply chain, urban air mobility, women in energy, and battery fire in EV and ESS.

WESD was started in 2017 to recognize the importance of energy storage in reaching the global aim of a greener grid and cleaner transportation, and brings together industry stakeholders, CXOs, policymakers, thought leaders, think tanks, and global associations on a single platform every year. This year, more than 6,000 delegates were among the thousands of global participants from over 100 countries and 4,000 organizations.

Throughout the conference, global thought leaders shared their perspective and insights:

Ashish Kundra, Principal Secretary, Government of Delhi, said: "Our goal is to decarbonize the transport sector to the best of our capacity. With some substantial subsidiaries offered for EV buyers, Delhi has inspired customers to adopt electric vehicles for transportation. The State EV cell is also aiming for a disruptive approach."

Dr Rahul Walawalkar, Chair, WESD and President & Managing Director, Customized Energy Solutions (CES), India, stated: "We are hoping that by 2030 India can get at least 15 to 25 percent share in the global supply chain, in terms of the key components across the battery ecosystem. Materials is not the only concern, in my view, as well as in my discussion with some of the other thought leaders, it has come up that actually skill development could end up becoming the biggest challenge for achieving this dream, because right now we are growing up this manufacturing at such a fast pace that there are not enough trained personnel available for the kind of different roles, which are required for supporting the giga factories or the related supply chain."

Knut Linnerud, CEO, Greenstat Asia, expressed: "Penetration of Green Hydrogen is strategic for India to invest in developing its own parallel technologies and capabilities to production. A key challenge is balancing taxation and incentivization to promote best technologies that can help in quick commercialization and achieving mainstream in the energy system."

Young-Il Lee, Professor, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, said: "Substitutes for lithium-ion batteries are necessary to reduce reliance on li-ion batteries. VRFB is not suited for cars but is useful for operating energy storage systems. Different chemistries are a good thing for the supply chain as well as various applications. In Korea, flow batteries act as a support for EV Charging Infrastructure."

About World Energy Storage Day (WESD)
With energy storage rising to the forefront of industry developments, World Energy Storage Day is celebrated on September 22nd every year to acknowledge its importance across the globe. It is a global movement initiated by various apex trade bodies working to promote and adopt energy storage, e-mobility & green hydrogen technologies for a sustainable future. Customized Energy Solutions (CES) is the presenting partner and India Energy Storage Alliance is the proud organizer of the WESD-Global Conference & Expo. For more information, visit www.energystorageday.org.

About Customized Energy Solutions (CES)
Established in 1998, Customized Energy Solutions is an energy advisory, software and services company that works closely with clients to navigate the wholesale and retail electricity markets across the United States and globally. CES offers software solutions, back office operational support, and advisory and consulting services focused on asset optimization and energy market participation efficiency. CES is also a third-party asset manager of more than 13,000 MWs of renewable and conventional generation resources across all ISOs in the United States, Ontario, Canada and Guam. CES empowers clients to achieve their goals by helping them navigate the evolving energy markets, complex market rules, and new energy technologies. To learn more, visit CES-LTD.com or connect with CES on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.