Energy storage is likely to be a near future “game changer” for Australia and could make the country the world leader in solar-plus-storage, a new report claims.

The two fastest moving regional markets for energy storage in the US have installed nearly 90% of the total deployed across the country for more than two years, according to GTM Research.

On a visit to heat battery maker Sunamp’s office, Scotland’s energy minister Fergus Ewing outlined aims to collaborate with his counterparts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland on nationwide storage strategy, while Sunamp CEO Andrew Bissel says greater understanding of heat source batteries is needed for the technology to be included.

Andy Colthorpe speaks to Matt Roberts of the Washington-based Energy Storage Association about topics including real-world applications of tech straight from the lab, why he dislikes subsidies and the group’s technical conference, happening later this month.

Solar cell and battery hybrid technology could become a commercial success as long as it clears the “valley of death” out of academia, a scientist working on the project has claimed.

Ministers from both Scotland and Wales have said energy storage solutions are integral to the “future direction” of energy use in the UK as they warned against cuts to renewable energy subsidies.

Mercom Capital Group’s second quarter 2015 report into VC funding in the energy storage, smart grid and energy efficiency sectors made for interesting reading for the battery and storage space. As PV Tech Storage noted on 21 July from the report, VC funding almost doubled over the first quarter of the year and the sector saw Arnold Schwarzenegger put his money where his green credentials are, bringing some celebrity investor gloss to the proceedings. PV Tech Storage spoke to Mercom Capital chief Raj Prabhu to delve deeper into the statistics.

UK energy and climate secretary Amber Rudd has spoken of her excitement of the “fantastic opportunity” posed by combining energy storage solutions with solar PV.

Some news in brief from around the world of energy storage this week: Manz underlines positive assessment of energy storage sector with US$55 million deals, Sonnenbatterie backs US push with investment from INVEN Capital, local sources report AES wants to build 250MW of projects in Philippines.

Venture capital (VC) funding for battery and energy storage companies totalled US$126 million in the second quarter of this year, almost doubling Q1’s US$69 million total raised, according to a report from Mercom Capital Group.