LevelTen Energy launches PPA-style contract for energy storage projects
Renewable energy marketplace creates a financial contract that "complements" existing power purchase agreements (PPAs) between corporations and developers.
Commercial
Q CELLS sets sights on US C&I market as it completes Geli acquisition
Vertically-integrated solar company Q CELLS has completed the acquisition of US-based Growing Energy Labs Inc (Geli) that was announced in August.
PODCAST: The year’s biggest stories in solar and energy storage and looking ahead to 2021
In this final episode of the Solar Media Podcast for 2020, Liam Stoker and Andy Colthorpe reflect on the biggest stories of the year and gaze into their crystal balls for 2021.
Rolls-Royce supplies battery storage to Costa Rican textiles company with four years’ payback
An integrated energy system installed for a textiles company in Costa Rica by Rolls-Royce Power Systems will pay for itself in just over four years, the technology provider has claimed.
Feature
Editor's blog
‘We think we’ve found the answer’: The ‘Supercell’ that could bring safe energy storage to New York
A couple of weeks ago the New York Power Authority (NYPA) began trialling an energy storage system using lithium batteries based around start-up Cadenza Innovation’s ’Supercell’ architecture which aims to eliminate the threat posed by thermal runaway. NYPA’s R&D lead Alan Ettlinger and Cadenza Innovation CEO Christina Lampe-Onnerud spoke with Energy-Storage.news as the trial got underway.
Battery pack prices reported below US$100/kWh for first time
The cost of Lithium-ion battery packs has fallen close to 90%, and rates lower than US$100/kWh have been reported for the first time, foreshadowing rapid declines across the energy storage market.
Google says batteries are a ‘multi-talented’ option for data centres
Google is investing in battery energy storage to serve as a backup power solution at one of its data centres, in a project described as a first step in changing data centres “from climate change problems to critical components in carbon-free systems”.
EU’s new battery regulation carries ‘high ambitions’ but risks backfiring
The European Union (EU) looks set to introduce the “most extensive product legislation in the world for batteries,” but its potential shortcomings include the risk that battery prices could go up and that established manufacturers from Asia might be better positioned to benefit from the rules than the new European value chain.
PV Tech Power 25 out now: Floating solar, building back better and energy storage fire safety
The latest edition of PV Tech Power – PV Tech Power 25 – is now available to download from the PV Tech Store. Volume 25 of our downstream solar journal tackles a number of the most pressing topics in utility-scale solar development today and includes Storage & Smart Power, the section contributed to every edition by the team here at Energy-Storage.news.
Feature
Guest blog
Batteries built to last: Half the cost or twice the life?
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Lithium battery technology is rapidly enabling the electrification of transport, and of the energy sector. However, batteries themselves can often be seen as a short-lived commodity and as yet, recycling and reuse have not become major priorities in the industry. Dr Amrit Chandan, CEO of UK-headquartered Aceleron Energy discusses what it means to build a circular economy around advanced lithium-ion batteries, designed with longer lifetimes and their repurposing for second-life use in mind.
Greek battery company SUNLIGHT nets €50m grant to develop ‘low-environmental footprint’ cells
A €105 million (US$127.6 million) push to develop low-cost, environmentally-friendly lithium-ion battery technology by Sunlight, a designer and manufacturer of batteries headquartered in Greece, will receive €49.9 million in grant funding.
Feature
Analysis
What you should know about manufacturing lithium-ion batteries
Ensuring high quality levels in the manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries is critical to preventing underperformance and even safety risks. Benjamin Sternkopf, Ian Greory and David Prince of PI Berlin examine the prerequisites for finding the 'sweet spot' between a battery's cost, performance and lifetime.
EU’s proposed rules on battery sustainability ‘welcome but risk over-regulating industry’
Proposed updates to EU legislation on batteries that aim to address some of the issues associated with Europe’s supply chain have been welcomed by trade industry association RECHARGE, albeit with the suggestion that they may be too complex in their current form.
Utility Hydro-Québec launches battery storage subsidiary and 90MW hydrogen project
Canadian public utility company and transmission system operator Hydro-Québec has launched a battery energy storage subsidiary as well as announcing a large-scale green hydrogen project.
Feature
Editor's blog
Fire safety for battery energy storage systems: Responding to ‘gaps’ in the industry
US energy storage safety expert advisory Energy Storage Response Group (ESRG) was created through a meeting of minds from the battery industry and fire service. Andy Colthorpe speaks with ESRG principal Nick Warner and business manager Ryan Franks on what the industry needs to do to win the trust of firefighters, code officials and other stakeholders including banks and insurers.
Enel X, EDF projects to show off capabilities, benefits of industrial solar-plus-storage microgrids
Commercial and industrial (C&I) microgrid projects have been awarded to Enel X and EDF Renewables North America in very different settings in the US, both using a combination of solar PV and stationary battery storage to improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and add resilience.