Past and future of energy storage technology: a bibliographic analysis

ABSTRACT As energy storage plays a crucial role in enabling renewable energy integration and improving energy efficiency, understanding the development trends and research directions is essential for guiding future innovations. Drawing on bibliometric and social network analyses combined with S-curve modeling, this study examines the evolution, current state, and future development of energy storage technologies from 2006 to 2025. First, we assessed research attention and research influence through bibliometric analysis, revealing significant trends in publication volume and citation impact. Second, we analyzed research collaboration networks, keyword relationships, and international cooperation patterns through social network analysis. Third, S-curve modeling was applied to analyze the development lifecycle and future trajectories of various energy storage technologies, including mechanical, electrical, electrochemical, thermal, and chemical energy storage. Over 36,000 publications were identified, with China dominating in publication while Singapore and the United States exhibit higher citation impact. Electrochemical energy storage emerges as the most extensively studied area. Technology forecasts suggest mechanical storage is increasingly integrated with other storage technologies, while electrical storage is showing a trend towards power grid integration and regulation. Electrochemical storage focuses on breakthroughs in device-level technologies. Thermal storage is placing greater emphasis on improving key performance indicators, and chemical storage is advancing towards a more economically viable industrial chain framework.