Key to the rapid success and growth of the energy storage industry in the US, China and other maturing markets has been the presence of a small number of system integrators. IHS Markit association director Julian Jansen examines what it is that system integrators do that makes them so vital to the industry and why the future ahead looks to be one characterised by growth, competition and consolidation.

There are seven utility-scale energy storage system integrator companies that currently lead a global market poised for significant expansion, with Fluence and Tesla currently competing for the top spot, according to a new industry ranking report from Guidehouse Insights.

Solar PV bidders secured two-thirds of allocated capacity in the first of Spain’s new renewable energy auctions, while energy storage was not included in any of the winning bids.

Wärtsilä Corporation’s CEO has said that “activity in the energy storage market held up well” in 2020 despite a difficult year for the company due to prevailing market conditions around the COVID-19 pandemic.

Finland has launched a new battery development strategy and is touting for investors to build up its manufacturing industry.

Norwegian state-owned energy company Statkraft is to provide market access and trading optimisation for battery storage assets being developed by RWE in Ireland.

News in brief from around the world in energy storage: this edition has a distinctly British flavour.

European member states are to bankroll dozens of projects to create new battery manufacturing solutions.

National Grid ESO, the electricity system operator tasked with keeping the lights on in the UK, is looking to enable multiple application stacking for providers of a new frequency response service that also participate in the national Balancing Mechanism.

Despite the fall in unit prices for energy storage, a total of US$3.6 billion of investment was committed to energy storage projects in 2020, around the same amount as in 2019.