Thanks to “innovative business models” and the combination of PV with batteries, Japan’s “solar boom” is far from over, market expert Izumi Kaizuka of RTS PV has said.

Japanese conglomerate Marubeni Corporation has invested in US-based company, GridMarket, which is focused on distributed generation projects using battery storage, solar PV, fuel cells, and combined heat and power.

A Tesla Powerpack energy storage system with 7MWh capacity has been deployed for a train company in Japan, adding backup power capabilities to trains and adding the system to an ongoing virtual power plant project.

Andy Colthorpe caught up with Moixa CTO Chris Wright to hear about how a tie-in with trading company ITOCHU and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) is creating smarter energy networks in Japan using solar, batteries, electric cars – and Moixa’s GridShare software platform.

Nippon Koei, one of Japan’s largest engineering firms, has formed a joint venture with a British battery storage firm to construct two 50MW behind-the-meter energy storage projects in the UK.

UK battery storage firm Zenobe Energy has secured a £25 million (US$32.27 million) investment from Japanese power giants Jera and Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco).

Sodium sulfur (NAS) batteries produced by Japan’s NGK Insulators are being put into use on a massive scale in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

Automotive giant Toyota and electronics firm Panasonic have announced a joint venture which will look to lead the field in EV battery technology.

Residential PV system owners who signed up to Japan’s feed-in tariff policy for 10-year contracts, that will soon expire, may be able to find new ways to benefit from their solar using battery storage.

A ceremony was held yesterday in Niedersachsen, Germany, to welcome the start of operations at a ‘hybrid’ energy storage plant that will use a combination of sodium-sulfur and lithium-ion batteries to stabilise the grid.