Increasingly, microgrids often lean on battery storage as a key component, replacing or reducing reliance on diesel and other fossil fuels.

The US government Department of Energy has begun implementation of a programme to support battery recycling.

FREYR Battery and Nidec intend to form a JV for the manufacture of battery storage modules and packs.

Energy stored in EV batteries will be traded on European power markets by The Mobility House, a specialist in vehicle-to-grid technologies.

Energy group BayWa r.e. has been selected to implement a project in France combining a solar PV plant, a battery energy storage system (BESS) and – if enough offtakers can be found – green hydrogen.

Some big names have announced steps forward in their residential battery offerings.

Electric vehicles have been used to help balance the grid in what has been dubbed a first for vehicle-to-grid tech in the UK.

The construction of battery cell factories catering specifically for stationary energy storage means competition for supply with the EV sector will cool off in the next couple of years.

German home energy storage and virtual power plant (VPP) company sonnen and solar contractor ES Solar are expanding a Utah and Idaho VPP program to include up to 35MWh of residential batteries by the end of the year.

Power management company Eaton is helping to build a microgrid pilot project trialling vehicle-to-grid (V2G) applications in Switzerland.