Investor-owned utility SDG&E is turning its first lithium iron phosphate-based battery energy storage system (BESS) online today, while Stanford university says it has hit 100% renewable electricity with the offtake from Goldman Sachs’ recently-commissioned Slate solar-plus-storage project.

Australia’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) and the Octopus Group have followed up their recent development deal for a mixed renewables hub.

News in brief from around the world in energy storage.

A major new vanadium processing facility is set to open in Finland in late 2024 after the formation of a joint venture (JV) to deliver the project.

The US battery storage market is struggling to adapt to rising raw materials costs and has reached a “crisis point”.

Endesa Generación Portugal, part of Enel, has been award the connection rights to develop a renewable energy project combining solar, wind, green hydrogen and a 168.6MW battery energy storage system (BESS) to replace the country’s last coal station.

Emad Zand, president of Northvolt Systems, on factors impacting the growth of a European battery storage industry.

Global energy storage and electric vehicle (EV) technology group NHOA, formerly Engie EPS, doubled its energy storage revenues in 2021 and says it has a €764m pipeline for the segment.

Centrica Business Solutions has acquired a 30MW battery energy storage project which will help manage North Sea offshore wind farms.

Long duration energy storage (LDES) technologies may have a difficult time competing with lithium-ion over the next decade as the latter’s cost-competitiveness at longer durations increases, possibly even to 24 hours, according to Haresh Kamath, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI).