A trio of energy storage startups: XL Batteries, Unbound Potential and Fourth Power, have raised financing for emerging flow battery and thermal storage technologies.

Two battery storage offtake agreements have been signed in Australia, representing over 2GWh of storage capacity.

The Queensland government has invested AU$48 million to overhaul the ageing 5.7GWh Wivenhoe Pumped Hydro Power Station in Australia.

Victoria, Australia, has seen just under 5GWh of battery energy storage systems (BESS) granted approval for development by the state and federal governments.

Chang Jae Won of the Korea Smart Grid Association believes companies lack a model for recovering their investment in DC energy storage.

Hydrostor has secured US$55 million in funding from Export Development Canada (EDC) to advance development activities for its 200MW/1,600MWh Silver City Energy Storage Centre project in Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia.

Hithium will supply battery storage and SMA the power conversion systems for a 500MWh grid-forming project in Australia for Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV).

Dutch BESS operator Return has acquired four ready-to-build (RTB) projects in Germany, while agrifood tech and renewables investor N2OFF has added BESS to a solar project it is developing there.

Andrés Barberán, energy storage product manager at Fluence, emphasises that optimising battery energy storage system (BESS) performance means making decisions with the entire asset lifecycle in mind, not just immediate returns.

Australia’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) has announced its largest-ever investment commitment, with AU$3.8 billion (US$2.5 billion) allocated to support the Marinus Link interconnector connecting the states of Tasmania and Victoria.