Energy storage: Status and future perspective in Arab countries

In this paper, the present status of energy storage implementation and research in Arab countries (ACs) is investigated. The different technologies of energy storage are reviewed then projects and capacities of installed or planned energy storage systems in the ACs are summarized based on published literature. In ACs, the installed and planned capacity of pumped hydro storage is 4365 MW, while for battery storage it is 5597 MW. No compressed energy storage projects are installed or planned in the near future. Green hydrogen as a fuel is planned in Egypt, Algeria, and Morocco. Renewable energy as a main employer of energy storage is predicted for the next 30 years; similarly, energy storage capacity is forecasted for the next 30 years. To enhance energy storage implementation it is recommended to include energy storage in all new commercial renewable energy projects. In addition to creating a regulatory framework that encourages the development of energy storage schemes. To advance research in the energy storage, modeling and simulation of energy storage systems in residential, commercial, and industrial sectors are recommended. In addition, cold energy storage for cooling and air-conditioning using phase change material to be investigated.