Germany headquartered “intelligent battery storage” and energy services provider Sonnen has just obtained US$85 million in its fourth financing round, from a range of investors. The company said the funds would be used both home and abroad, with Sonnen operating in markets including Italy, Australia, the US and the UK. Andy Colthorpe spoke with the company’s CEO Christoph Ostermann to learn more.
With over 30 companies exhibiting battery products or espousing the technology to the thousands of visitors in attendance, storage was always going to play a major role at last week’s SEUK | Clean Energy Live exhibition. David Pratt summarises the view from the show floor with regards the UK’s burgeoning storage market.
Utility and network needs are rapidly changing and some are adopting both batteries and ultracapacitors to meet these needs. David Lentsch of Maxwell Technologies looks at some of the various approaches.
Preparations are now gathering pace as the UK’s solar and clean energy industries prepare to meet at this year’s Solar Energy UK | Clean Energy Live conference, held at the NEC in Birmingham.
Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) senior analyst Logan Goldie-Scot discusses with Energy-Storage.News drivers for the recent uptick in storage across the globe, as well as insights on why America has an ideal regulatory approach to storage technologies, the recent UK tender, and the potential of dynamic markets in Asia Pacific.
Sam Wilkinson, of IHS Markit, talks to Energy-Storage.News about the winners in the UK’s recent 200MW Enhanced Frequency Response (EFR) tender which saw utility and renewables giants share the spoils.
Brian Perusse, vice president of AES Energy Storage and Jim Avery, chief development officer of SDG&E discuss the largest battery-based storage system in the US, set to stand at 30MW in California.
The proposed 4GW nuclear plant in the UK has been labelled too expensive and too risky but supporters say it is crucial for the UK’s future energy mix. James Blackman looks into the realistic role energy storage technology could play in any mooted alternative plans to keep Britain’s lights on.
Tesla Motors’ US$2.6 billion all-stock offer for SolarCity this week raised questions, as both firms’ share prices slumped on the announcement, and markets reflected a sense of both awe and unease at the proposed deal. GTM Research director of energy storage Ravi Manghani considers these questions, through the prism of Tesla chief Elon Musk’s self-titled ‘master plan, part deux’.
It’s no surprise that Elon Musk’s announcement that he was working on Tesla’s second master plan was met with great anticipation. Lux Research’s Chris Robinson looks in depth at the new strategy, which included autonomy, solar power, some vehicles we expected, and some vehicles we didn’t.
