Comparative sustainability efficiency measurement of energy storages under uncertainty: An innovative framework based on interval SBM model

Abstract The variety of the energy storage materials and technologies leads to the selection difficulty. To evaluate the overall performance of energy storage technologies, this study proposes sustainability efficiency and sustainability super-efficiency indices. The proposed indices illustrate the integrated performance of energy storages in economic, environmental, technological and social aspects. A measurement framework is proposed based on data envelopment analysis models, which are the interval slacks-based measurement of efficiency and super efficiency. In this study, the concept of virtual DMUs is raised to solve the problem of instability of DEA due to insufficient DMUs analysed in the model. A case study is used to illustrate the proposed method and the result has been analysed and validated. The Li-Ion battery is recognized as the most sustainable energy storage technologies among the four alternatives. This framework provides a feasible solution for prioritization of energy storage technologies while the number of alternatives is limited.