Sustainability Performance Index for Ranking Energy Storage Technologies using Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Model and Hybrid Computational Method

Sustainability performance index for ranking energy storage technologies is presented in this paper. The sustainability performance index is calculated using the Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) model and the extended Stepwise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA)/Additive Ratio Assessment (ARAS) hybrid computational method. Five main sustainability criteria and seventeen sub-criteria are used in this analysis. Seven energy storage technologies are selected to test the efficiency and performance of the proposed hybrid method: lead-acid batteries, Li-ion batteries, super capacitors, hydrogen storage, compressed air energy storage, pumped hydro, and thermal energy storage. The best ranking for the energy storage system was obtained for the high degree of utility Q(a). The result of the ranking of the selected energy storage technologies is as follows: (1) thermal energy storage (Q(a) - 1), (2) compressed air energy storage (Q(a) - 0.990), (3) Li-ion batteries (Q(a) =0.930), (4) pumped hydro (Q(a) =0.910), (5) lead acid batteries (Q(a) =0.885), (6) hydrogen storage (Q(a) =0.881), and (7) super capacitors (Q(a) =0.870). A sensitivity analysis was performed by alternating the weights of the main criteria in ten different scenarios to see how sensitive are the results with respect to these weights. The results show that the thermal energy storage and compressed air were alternating between the first and the second ranks (the thermal energy storage was ranked first in six scenarios and the compressed air in four scenarios). The results obtained in this study showed that the integration of the MCDM model and the hybrid SWARA/ARAS method is a powerful tool for the determination of the sustainability indices for ranking the energy storage technologies.