Industry headlines and stats, the approval of US president Barack Obama and even the growing popularity of electric rickshaws have been used to drive home the message that energy storage is a technology for today, not some distant future.

Saft is doubling its production capacity with a new Chinese facility, UK energy minister Amber Rudd visited Cumulus Energy Storage and Tesla in California, Fluidic Energy to provide smart grids and storage in madagascar

The EU’s lack of regulatory definition for energy storage is among major factors holding back the potential of the technology in the continent, particularly for integrating renewables, Solar Power Europe has argued in a new report.

Many have predicted 2016 will be the year when energy storage starts to live up to its hype. Andy Colthorpe canvased views from some of the leading figures and companies in the sector on the next developments a market that could help take solar and other renewables to the next level.

Recharge A/S, an investment fund specialising in renewables, will take a 50.1% stake in a €24 million (US$26.7 million) micro grid on a remote Portuguese island that could prove the validity of such projects as an asset class.

German utility E.On recently joined forces with German PV module and storage manufacturer Solarwatt. Energy Storage News catches up with Felix Brauer, training coordinator at SolarWatt, to discuss the partnership in detail and the benefits of a DC-coupled battery system.

Energy storage could have a ‘highly critical’ role to play in emerging economies, Aloke Gupta of Imergy Power Systems says. Gupta, who was previously with California’s Public Utilities’ Commission, the state’s regulator, talks about the uses and applications of micro-grids, from his vantage point of view as a flow battery and storage system maker.

The potential for integrating energy storage, wind and solar energy in India is to be investigated under a new US-backed study, which will help India design its future grid.

The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has invited expressions of interest for what may be India’s first utility-scale energy storage project to be combined with a solar and wind hybrid project at Rangreek in the mountainous state of Himachal Pradesh.

The US energy storage market grew 243% last year, making 2015 the biggest year of any on record for storage, according to GTM Research.