Automation and engineering group ABB has signed on to become a supplier to a planned European lithium-ion battery ‘Gigafactory’ for Swedish start-up Northvolt.
India’s Central Electricity Authority (CEA) is debating how and whether to introduce a mandate for solar and wind projects above a certain size to be coupled with energy storage.
UK-based renewables developer Anesco says the inclusion of battery storage has been central to the economic viability of the country’s first subsidy-free solar farm, a 10MW site the company has just unveiled in the east of England.
A test and demonstration facility operated by South Africa’s main utility Eskom will trial Primus Power’s flow batteries, after a local developer was awarded a grant for the project by the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA).
Energy storage battery and system maker Leclanché will pilot the use of stationary energy storage to support fast charger networks for electric vehicles (EVs) in Holland.
Fernhill Corporation, a Nevada-headquartered company that invests in and acquires companies for “long-term sustainable cash flow”, has applied to patent a hybrid capacitor-battery energy storage system.
Legislation recently introduced in California to cut red tape and reduce permitting times for energy storage systems and currently awaiting the state Governor’s rubber stamp could also halve the costs associated with paperwork, commercial system provider Stem has said.
While lithium-ion is rapidly racing ahead to become the “de facto grid storage solution” and is the most popular technology choice by far, vendors of other types of batteries are also targeting the market, with varying degrees of success.
With grid-connected energy storage a relatively new technology, stakeholders are yet to fully understand many of the risks and business opportunities it presents, DNV GL’s Dr Martijn Huibers has said.
UK energy company Drax is to consider adding a 200MW battery storage project to its coal-fired power station in North Yorkshire in an effort to add value through greater flexibility and extend its operational lifetime.
