European gigafactory company Northvolt has signed a US$1.1 billion convertible note to finance the expansion of its lithium-ion battery production, ahead of a potential IPO in the next two years.

Swedish public utility Vattenfall is about to start filling a 45m-high, 200MW-rated thermal energy storage facility with water in Berlin, Germany.

Some anticipated lithium-ion battery gigafactory projects in Europe are quietly revising their plans and may not open at all, according to the head of energy storage for research and consulting company Delta-EE.

News in brief from around the world in Energy Storage.

US battery energy storage system (BESS) integrator Jupiter Power has turned its second 200MWh BESS online in Texas, bringing its total capacity in the state’s market to 450MWh.

Swiss Life Asset Managers has acquired a 50% stake in BCP Battery Holding, a company with several utility-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) developments in Germany.

Construction has begun on the first of four battery energy storage systems (BESS) totalling 200MW/200MWh from global system integrator Fluence in Lithuania.

The German parliament has passed law amendments giving energy storage its own legal definition, in a move welcomed by industry sources.

Energy storage solutions company Leclanché claims an addition to its lithium-ion battery can reduce the risk of a thermal event by close to 80%, two months after a fire occurred in its battery production facility.

A pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) plant with a capacity of 20GWh in Valais, Switzerland, will begin operations on Friday, 1 July.