Sonnenbatterie, Germany’s market leader for residential energy storage, has launched an energy trading platform that the company believes could make it as big as existing utility companies, rebranding itself as Sonnen in the process.

Renewables with energy storage can help build low carbon energy networks in the developing world – but the twin technologies still face competition from natural gas while they gradually mature, according to an electric power systems maker and integrator.

A US company which analyses Big Data for energy applications has claimed a world first with its involvement in a Dutch project to integrate multiple distributed energy resources into a single system.

Energy storage is already competitive in a number of mainly grid-based applications, while lithium-ion battery prices could fall by as much as 50% in the next five years, financial advisory and asset management firm Lazard has found.

Aquion Energy’s non-toxic ‘saltwater’ batteries will be used to illuminate a dedicated bicycle lane at an airport in Thailand.

A UK initiative to provide codes of best practise in the selling and installation of PV systems paired with electricity storage is underway, with authors of a guide seeking consultation from stakeholders.

US analysis firm GTM Research has published the latest commentary to highlight significant potential in Australia for energy storage, driven by the success of its PV industry.

Steag, a major power generator which constructs, plans and operates power plants, is spending US$100 million on acquiring 90MW of large-scale energy storage to help stabilise Germany’s grid.

Top names have signed up to support the Energy Storage division of PV Tech Storage’s publisher Solar Media, which has launched a series of events and media activities for next year, targeting the UK’s nascent industry.

Tesla batteries in microgrids will be deployed to help integrate renewable energy into California’s interdependent “water-energy nexus”, as the state faces it worst drought on record.