New technologies and designs aimed at driving down the cost of energy storage facilities are currently the focus of intense industry R&D. Sara Verbruggen reports on DC coupling, an emerging system architecture that many believe will soon become the industry standard.

Power electronics giant Hitachi has acquired ABB’s power grids business in an US$11 billion (£8.7 billion) deal which cements its position in the energy solutions sector.

News in brief from around the world in energy storage.

The market for power conversion systems (PCS) used in energy storage is becoming “increasingly crowded” with competitors, while the diverse field of players will contribute to “rapid technological innovations and price reductions”, Navigant Research has said.

Power conversion specialist Ideal Power has received an order for 0.5MW of its 30kW power conversion systems (PCS) for commercial energy storage projects in Germany, from an unnamed customer or customers.

Battery-based energy storage integration and development company Younicos has launched a power converter unit and a standalone, easily deployable storage solution, with the company describing the move into hardware as a “next logical step”.