While at Intersolar Europe/ees Europe this week, we caught up with Detlef Neuhaus, CEO of the Dresden-headquartered Solarwatt who told us more about his company’s strategy, as well as offering up some candid views on the industry.

This week the editorial teams of Solar Media’s international brands, PV Tech and Energy-Storage.news, will be among those travelling to Munich for the Intersolar Europe trade show, which once again includes the electrical energy storage Europe (ees Europe) event.

First developed by NASA, flow batteries are a potential answer to storing solar – and wind – for eight to 10 hours, far beyond what is commonly achieved today with lithium-ion. In the first of a two-part special report, Andy Colthorpe learns what the flow battery industry faces in the fight for commercialisation.

Only large scale and intelligent energy storage can realistically solve the issue of variable renewable electricity generation. Patrick Clerens, Secretary General at the European Association for Storage of Energy and a member of the advisory board for Electrify Europe, argues that we can make it happen – but only if we get the incentives right.

Close on heels of its recent announcement on forming a new global unit focused on the hybrid and energy storage market, Indian EPC Sterling and Wilson has won a captive solar-diesel-storage microgrid project in Africa. Energy-Storage.News caught up with Vish Iyer, global head of business development, strategy and marketing for the Hybrid and Energy Storage division at Sterling and Wilson, to find out more.

A new consortium, V2GB (Vehicle to Grid Britain), will develop driver-centred business models to support the rapid roll out of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technologies, enabling millions of electric car batteries to become a vital part of the UK energy system. National Grid, carmaker Nissan’s European Technical Centre, Moixa and energy consultancy Element Energy have come together to help work out how to reward drivers who use electric vehicle (EV) batteries to support the power network. Chris Wright, the Chief Technology Officer of UK home battery company Moixa, talks us through the mission behind V2GB and the potential impact of the study.

Israel-headquartered SolarEdge launched a software platform for aggregating household energy storage units – and other distributed energy equipment – into virtual power plants, last week. The company’s solution has already been chosen for a VPP project in Australia by AGL, one of the country’s biggest utilities. The commercial launch of the VPP platform direct to customers is now underway. Andy Colthorpe spoke with Lior Handelsman, one of SolarEdge’s founders and vice president of marketing and product strategy.

Intersolar Managing Director Dr. Florian Wessendorf and NAATBatt International Executive Director James Greenberger have collaborated to forecast top trends that are expected to dominate the ees North America show floor this year.

The huge increase in demand for safe and reliable batteries to store energy from renewable sources such as solar and wind heralds a new lease of life for advanced lead batteries, argues Dr Andy Bush of the International Lead Association.

Energy-Storage.News caught up with Vish Iyer, global head of business development, strategy and marketing for the Hybrid and Energy Storage division at EPC firm Sterling and Wilson, to find out more about the company’s latest venture.