Mini-grids offer a quick route to electrification in parts of the world where grid extensions are unfeasible. Baptiste Possémé looks at the some of the technological and regulatory trends influencing the deployment of mini-grids in Africa and Asia.

The success of efforts to decarbonise economies in the UK and elsewhere could hinge largely on how governments and business communities – particularly large commercial lenders – engage with the sector in 2020, a UK-based financier of solar and storage has said.

Energy-Storage.news was delighted to be asked to moderate a session in which participants and pioneers of UK energy storage – and solar – gave their perspectives on everything from the right technologies and what they can do, how financiers view the market today, to how we can all join together to create a modern, clean and sustainable energy sector.

Insurer Munich Re has launched what it claims is the world’s first long-term insurance plan for battery performance, signing up ‘all-iron’ flow battery maker ESS Inc as its first customer.

Managing investor expectations and monetising demand for flexibility are key to future-proofing the industry’s business case, financiers stress at Energy Storage Summit.

Philadelphia Solar, a vertically-integrated PV company headquartered in Jordan, said this morning it has reached financial close on a project to bring battery storage to a large-scale solar farm in the Middle East kingdom.

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.

VC funding for energy storage projects increased significantly, while debt and public market financing remained “steady” during 2017, Mercom Capital has found.

Battery Energy Storage Solutions (BESS) an independent system solutions and flexibility services provider, has taken in more than US$100 million in outside investment since November, with plans to target 100MW of UK projects.

Having been subject to discussion for years within the academic sphere, energy storage projects have become a topic of high interest to energy sector focused investors in recent years. Philipp Lobnig of E-nable+, an online platform connecting energy projects with investors, offers his views on the key questions these investors should be asking.