Standalone storage, demand from commercial and industrial (C&I) customers and new types of grid services will increasingly help drive growth in energy storage in the coming years, but the future mix between battery-based and alternative storage types is still unclear.

The energy transition arm of Italy’s Enel Group has started construction on a 20MW/40MWh behind-the-meter battery energy storage system at Imperial Oil’s petrochemical complex in Sarnia, Ontario, which it claims will be the largest in North America.

The first awards of funding designed to “turbocharge” UK projects developing long-duration energy storage technologies have been made by the country’s government, with £6.7 million (US$9.11 million) pledged. 

Guidehouse Insights says that the annual power capacity deployments of battery-based residential energy storage systems (RESS) are expected to grow at a CAGR of 21.3% from 2021 to 2030 globally.

Creating a wider ecosystem of services and software is essential for system integrators to stay ahead, according to Julian Jansen at Fluence.

Industry-watchers will closely follow how the recently completed acquisition of energy storage system integrator NEC ES by LG Energy Solution pans out.

Energy storage industry executives have urged US legislators to swiftly reach a consensus on the Build Back Better Act, with a strong emphasis on introducing the investment tax credit (ITC) for standalone storage. 

FlexGen Power Systems has launched an electric vehicle charging solution combining its energy management system (EMS) platform and battery energy storage. 

Thermal storage startup Antora Energy has raised US$50m from a group of investment firms including Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures to accelerate the development of its heat-based carbon block energy storage system for heavy industry. 

LG Energy Solution, the battery technology arm of South Korea’s LG Group, has completed its acquisition of 100% ownership in battery energy storage system (BESS) integrator NEC ES.