We hear from Netherlands-based ‘distributed hybridisation’ sodium-ion BESS startup Moonwatt, as it announces its first project 18 months after being founded and around a year after executives introduced its tech and strategy to Energy-Storage.news.

The 2026 edition of The Energy Storage Report is out now and available to download, charting the key trends, challenges and successes in the industry.

Ukraine’s government sees energy storage as a tool of strategic national importance as the country weathers Russian attacks and looks to the future.

“Australia remains a multi-gigawatt proving ground for utility-scale energy storage systems,” says Kashish Shah of Wärtsilä Energy Storage.

IPP Lydian Energy has secured US$689 million in financing for two solar projects and a battery energy storage system (BESS) project in New Mexico, Texas, and Utah, US.

The US Treasury’s interim FEOC guidance has outlined “Material Assistance” provisions, which rely heavily on existing safe harbour calculations.

The first monthly global grid-scale BESS deployment figures for 2026 are in from Rho Motion, showing a year-on-year fall and China continuing to account for the majority of activity.

Another roundup of European BESS news, but this time around portfolios, partnerships, investments, financing, optimisation and tolling in France, Spain, Belgium, Denmark, Finland and Romania. Notable highlights are Grenergy’s 10-year BESS toll in Spain and Ingrid Capacity entering the French market.

More needs to be done to cement energy storage’s vital role in European energy resilience, writes Teresa Casacchia, head of storage at Baywa r.e.

Contact Energy plans to raise NZ$525 million (US$316 million) in equity funding to fast-track its Contact31+ strategy for its renewable energy and storage pipeline in New Zealand.