AutoGrid has raised US$83.5 million in funding to scale up its virtual power plant (VPP) platform for distributed energy resources (DER) and Leap has raised US$33.5 million to scale and develop its DER software solution.

Harmony Energy Income Trust (Harmony), a battery storage investment fund operated by UK renewables and energy storage developer Harmony Energy, intends to undertake an initial public offering.

A new joint venture (JV) is evaluating building battery cell gigafactories in the US, based on advanced lithium-ion technologies, formed by investor Koch Strategic Platforms and manufacturer FREYR Battery. 

UK-headquartered asset manager Gresham House has partnered Irish developer Strategic Power Projects to develop a solar and storage pipeline with a combined capacity of over 1GW.

The opportunities for energy storage in the US continue to grow and grow, but moving away from contracted revenue structures to merchant risk projects will be a challenge, especially for lenders. 

Shares and warrants of iron flow battery provider ESS Inc have commenced trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). 

Energy storage is a key enabler of net zero emissions in the UK, but some unresolved challenges still make it a complex sector to navigate, as Antonia Silvestri and Gary Roscoe, partners at law firm TLT, explain.

This edition of news in brief in energy storage comes from a busy week in the UK.

Northvolt has announced an expansion to its R&D centre in Sweden which will turn the facility into “Europe’s leading campus for battery technologies”.

Eos Energy Enterprises, the NASDAQ-listed US manufacturer of zinc-based battery storage technology, has secured an equipment financing deal that will aid its efforts to increase manufacturing capacity.