Commercially viable energy storage has the potential to change the game by solving the energy trilemma. Arshad Saleem, from KIC InnoEnergy, which invests in and supports European sustainable energy, says marrying start-up innovation and big business experience could accelerate the journey to viability.

While the effectiveness of flow batteries in islanded situations is quickly being recognised, on the grid, the cost of providing that storage is still seen as something of an inhibitor to uptake. Andy Colthorpe spoke with the RedT CEO, Scott McGregor, to get his views on how flow batteries can thrive – and why lithium-ion is not the enemy.

In the simplest terms, if 2014 was the year of test deployments and proving storage can work, 2015 was a year of getting things done. But what are the big trends likely to drive the space on in 2016? Lux Research closely tracks the energy storage industry, in combination with solar, in terms of its synergy with EVs and in its own right. Andy Colthorpe spoke with Lux analyst Cosmin Laslau to get his views and predictions on what we can expect to see this year.

Placing a battery onto the grid is an economic investment. Matthew Hunt from the UK’s Chargesync discusses strategies for extracting the maximum value from devices and systems through optimising performance.