There’s a race to develop new technologies – and adapt existing ones – that can either be complementary to lithium batteries, or even compete with them. Representatives from three technology providers offer up some case studies, data, insights and opinions on where they think the market could go.

More electricity storage and longer durations will be needed for the UK to meet net zero, according to electricity system operator National Grid ESO’s latest modelling.

Lithium battery cells will be rolling off a production line at a 16GWh-capacity factory in France in 2023, with manufacturing startup Verkor then planning to scale up to 50GWh “in line with market dynamics”.

Independent power producer EDF Renewables North America has signed a 22-year power purchase agreement with NV Energy for a 200MWac solar project coupled with a 180MW, four-hour battery storage system.

A renewable energy project that could provide up to 20% of Singapore’s electricity needs has been fast tracked by the Australian government.

US developer and utility NextEra Energy has said there is currently a “terrific opportunity” for wind, solar and battery storage while Texas-based CPS Energy plans to add up to 900MW of solar, 50MW of battery storage and 500MW of new technology solutions to its portfolio.

California investor-owned utility (IOU) Pacific Gas & Electric has begun work constructing a 182.5MW / 730MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) project at a substation in California.

Long duration energy storage is “essential” to help accelerate renewable deployment, according to the US Department of Energy’s Dr Imre Gyuk, who moderates this panel discussion with Matt Harper from flow battery provider Invinity Energy Systems and Russ Weed from gravity energy storage company ARES.

Northvolt has now raised over US$3 billion to support its plans to become a major player in the European battery manufacturing space, including US$1.6 billion in debt financing which it announced today.

An April 2019 fire and subsequent explosion which caused injuries to firefighters and destruction of a grid-scale battery storage system in Arizona likely started with an internal cell defect that caused the “preventable” incident, analysis has found.