An Indian clean energy firm hopes to bring down the cost of lithium-ion cell manufacturing below INR15,000/kWh (US$222) by setting up a facility in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

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.

Fluence says it has secured the single largest energy storage portfolio transaction for a technology provider announced in the UK to date after being selected by UK Power Reserve (UKPR) to deliver half of its battery storage portfolio.

Xcel Energy has filed a plan which would retire two coal plants, add significant capacities of renewables and gas – and deploy 275MW specifically in combination with PV.

California investor-owned utility (IOU) San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has contracted companies including RES, AMS and Enel Green Power to execute five energy storage projects totalling 85MW / 334MWh in its service area.

Advisory and certification house DNV GL is supporting Turkish plans to source 30% of total electricity generated in the country from renewable sources, carrying out a feasibility study for combinations of solar PV and energy storage.

The UK’s energy storage sector took “a great step forward” after completing what is thought to be the world’s first grid-scale liquid air energy storage (LAES) plant at the Pilsworth landfill gas site in Bury, near Manchester, the two companies involved have said.

Australia could be getting its first lithium-ion battery ‘Gigafactory’, with some progress made in the past few days for a facility proposed to be built in Queensland.

Swiss vertically-integrated battery and energy storage system and equipment maker Leclanché has followed sonnen in netting a significant amount of investment to go into the second half of 2018, securing CHF75 million (US$76 million) from its main existing investor.

Britain’s transmission system operator (TSO) National Grid has said it wants a new procurement process for ‘black start’ capabilities up and running by the mid-2020s, and wants it to involve renewables and battery energy storage.