There are very different drivers for deploying energy storage in the four provinces of China that announced significant capacities of projects this year, the China Energy Storage Alliance (CNESA) has said.

BYD has just opened a gigawatt-scale lithium battery factory in Qinghai Province, a few days after a senior company representative told Energy-Storage.news that, like electric vehicles (EVs), it is only a matter of time before lithium batteries for stationary storage reach mainstream acceptance.

JLM Energy, a US maker of residential ’microstorage’ systems that pair with individual solar panels, is leaning on its US$25 million project finance fund to develop larger storage projects for commercial businesses.

News in brief from around the world of energy storage.

A new solid state electrolyte for lithium batteries developed by Panasonic and nano-electronics and digital tech innovation hub imec has achieved “exceptionally high” ionic conductivity at room temperature.

The CEO of a company that makes ‘microstorage’ units that connect directly to individual solar PV panels, says his products come with 20-year warranties with the intention of matching PV system owners’ expectations of product quality and lifetime.

Sonnen is looking to sign up 2,000 Australian customers this year for SonnenFlat, where households sign up to pay a monthly ‘flat rate’ for power while their batteries are used to benefit the local grid.

China-headquartered BYD has launched the latest iteration of its B-Box battery energy storage systems, including a high voltage model, into the European market.

System provider JLM Energy has launched the first in a suite of energy storage products that connects battery storage directly to solar panels.

German manufacturer Tesvolt will supply 3MWh of energy storage to 25 villages in Mali, Africa, which the company claims will allow the currently diesel-reliant residents to drastically reduce electricity costs.