An EV and stationary energy storage battery start-up headed by former SpaceX, Tesla, Apple, Amazon and Samsung designers and engineers has mobilised almost US$100 million of financing and contracts to kickstart manufacturing operations.

Another utility-scale energy storage facility has got the green light for construction in South Australia, claimed to be the first in the country to be “backed by mostly private investment from the energy industry”.

The Taiwanese government is planning to speak with Tesla about potential grid-connected energy storage projects, according to regional news sources.

Developer Deepwater Wind has applied to build a 144MW offshore wind farm, coupled with 40MWh of battery-based energy storage from Tesla, off the coast of Massachusetts.

Tesla’s senior director of battery technology since 2006 has quit the company seeking pastures new, a company spokeswoman confirmed this morning.

Australian media baron Rupert Murdoch’s son James is one of two new independent board directors at Tesla, while the EV, tech and energy storage maker confirmed that former SolarCity CTO Peter Rive is leaving the company.

At least two global technology leaders could set up Gigafactories to manufacture lithium-ion cells in India in the next couple of years, and most major Indian firms are setting up energy storage divisions, according to the head of the India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA).

Business models used by Advanced Microgrid Solutions (AMS), including creating “Hybrid Electric Buildings” with energy storage, take the industry to a “new level”, VC investor Nancy Pfund has said.

An offer from Tesla CEO Elon Musk to complete a large-scale energy storage project in South Australia within 100 days or deliver it for free has been taken up by the region’s government.

Welcome to Part 2 of our in-depth talk with Nancy Pfund, managing partner at DBL Partners, a venture capital firm specialising in companies and start-ups that offer both rewarding financial returns and positive social impacts. As well as being one of the earliest backers to Tesla and SolarCity, to utility-scale solar tracker company NEXTracker to Off-Grid Electric, which deploys solar in rural Africa; to others in energy storage like Advanced Microgrid Solutions and Primus Power, Pfund is extremely well-placed to offer a quick Q&A ‘masterclass’ in energy storage investing.