The US Department of Energy (DOE) and the Indian Ministry of Science and Technology (MST) have committed new funds for research on energy storage and smart grids under the US-India Partnership to Advance Clean Energy Research (PACE-R) for US$30 million.

Total’s acquisition of battery provider Saft has set the tone for oil majors to follow and invest in energy storage, distributed generation and solar power ventures, according to a new report from Lux Research.

Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has issued a request for selection (RfS) for 100MW of grid-connected solar PV projects with large-scale battery energy storage systems at Kadapa Solar Park, Andhra Pradesh.

Australian power company AGL is to install the largest ‘virtual power plant’ in the world in Adelaide, South Australia, using batteries from energy storage firm Sunverge Energy.

Silicon valley-headquartered flow battery maker Imergy Power Systems has entered into ABC insolvency and terminated the contracts of all its staff, the company has confirmed.

Tesla Motors’ proposed US$2.6 billion purchase of SolarCity could “substantially” increase SolarCity’s sales, reckons industry veteran Jigar Shah, clean energy entrepreneur and founder of SunEdison.

Tesla Motors’ US$2.6 billion all-stock offer for SolarCity this week raised questions, as both firms’ share prices slumped on the announcement, and markets reflected a sense of both awe and unease at the proposed deal. GTM Research director of energy storage Ravi Manghani considers these questions, through the prism of Tesla chief Elon Musk’s self-titled ‘master plan, part deux’.

EnSync Energy Systems, formerly known as ZBB Energy, announced on Monday the sale of multiple PPAs, including the first ever solar-plus-storage projects sold in Hawaii.

Energy storage capacity additions will double worldwide to 2.9GWh this year, up from 1.4GWh in 2015, according to the latest report from analyst firm IHS Markit.

New research predicts the energy storage market in Germany will increase 11-fold in the next five years, with the residential market buoyed by declining feed-in tariffs, high electricity prices and €30 million in subsidies, while the primary reserve market boosts activity within the utilities sector.