Energy storage in the energy transition and blue economy: challenges, innovations, future perspectives, and educational pathways

Abstract Transitioning to renewable energy is vital to achieving decarbonization at the global level, but energy storage is still a major challenge. This review discusses the role of energy storage in the energy transition and the blue economy, focusing on technological development, challenges, and directions. Effective storage is vital for balancing intermittent renewable energy sources like wind, solar, and marine energy with the power grid. The development of battery technologies, hydrogen storage, pumped hydro storage, and emerging technologies like sodium-ion and metal-air batteries is discussed for their potential for large-scale deployment. Shortages in critical raw materials, environmental impact, energy loss, and costs are some of the challenges to large-scale deployment. The blue economy promises opportunities for offshore energy storage, notably through ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) and compressed air energy storage (CAES). Moreover, the capacity of data-driven optimization and artificial intelligence to enhance storage efficiency is discussed. Policy interventions and economic incentives are necessary to spur the development and deployment of sustainable energy storage technology. Education and workforce training are also important in cultivating future researchers, engineers, and policymakers with the ability to drive energy innovation. Merging sustainability training with an interdisciplinary approach can potentially establish an efficient workforce that is capable of addressing energy issues. Future work needs to focus on higher energy density, efficiency, recyclability, and cost-effectiveness of the storage technologies without sacrificing their environmental sustainability. The study underlines the need for converging technological, economic, and educational approaches to enable a sustainable and resilient energy future.