electric power. Where AC grid power was not readily available, isolated lighting plants run by wind turbines or internal combustion engines provided lighting and power to small motors. The battery system could be used to run the load without starting the engine or when the wind was calm. A bank of lead–acid batteries in glass jars both supplied power to illuminate lamps, as well as to start an engine to recharge the batteries. Battery storage technology is typically around 80% to more than 90% efficient for newer lithium-ion devices. Battery systems connected to large solid-state converters have been used to stabilize power distribution networks. Some grid batteries are co-located with renewable energy plants, either to smooth the power supplied by the intermittent wind or solar output, or to shift the power output into other hours of the day when the renewable plant cannot produce power directly (see Installation examples). These hybrid systems (generation and storage) can either alleviate the pressure on the grid when connecting renewable sources or be used to reach self-sufficiency and work "off-the-grid" (see Stand-alone power system). Contrary to electric vehicle applications, batteries for stationary storage do not suffer from mass or volume constraints. However, due to the large amounts of energy and power implied, the cost per power or energy unit is crucial. The relevant metrics to assess the interest of a technology for grid-scale storage is the $/Wh (or $/W) rather than the Wh/kg (or W/kg). The electrochemical grid storage was made possible thanks to the development of the electric vehicle, that induced a fast decrease in the production costs of batteries below $300/kWh. By optimizing the production chain, major industrials aimed to reach $150/kWh by the end of 2020, but actually achieved $140/kWh. The rate of decline in battery prices has consistently outpaced most estimates, reaching $132/kWh in 2021. These batteries rely on a lithium-ion technology, which is suited for mobile applications (high cost, high density). Technologies optimized for the grid should focus on low cost per kWh. Lithium iron phosphate batteries are increasingly being used in both vehicles and grid storage because of their low cost, scale and acceptable energy density for many applications. Grid-oriented battery technologies Sodium-ion batteries are a cheap and sustainable alternative to lithium-ion, because sodium is far more abundant and cheaper than lithium, but it has a lower power density. However, they are still on the early stages of