Julia Souder, CEO of the Long Duration Energy Storage Council, explores energy storage as the cornerstone of power grids of the future.

Key contracts have been awarded in Queensland, Australia, to work on what would be the world’s largest pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) plant.

Japanese conglomerate Itochu is launching its first grid-scale BESS project with utility Osaka Gas and finance group Tokyo Century Leasing.

The government of Spain is launching €160 million (US$170 million) in grants for energy storage projects, aiming to fund 600MW of projects to go online in 2026.

Eni Plenitude, part of the large oil and gas major Eni, has put into operation a 15MW/9MWh battery storage unit in Italy.

Dutch utility Eneco is planning a 50MW/200MWh battery storage project in Belgium for commissioning next year, and called for more policy action on storage from its own government in the Netherlands.

US energy storage developer Gridstor has announced the start of construction of its first project, a 60MW/160MWh BESS in California.

Investors Harmony Energy and JLEN have energised battery storage projects in the UK, while the government is considering a VAT exemption for home battery storage.

The government of Chile will launch a bill this year to procure large-scale energy storage systems for commissioning in 2026 totalling US$2 billion of investment, on top of 5GWh already being sought for 2027-28.

South Africa hospital operator eyes non-lithium energy storage for PV optimisation, peak shaving & resiliency