Global
Hydrostor Inc. and AECOM announce partnership to deploy compressed air energy storage (CAES) systems globally
The partnership between Hydrostor Inc. and AECOM will develop, market and construct projects using Hydrostor's Adiabatic Compressed Air Energy Storage technology (which uses underwater air cavities or underground geological formations) by offering complete turnkey and warranted energy storage projects into the growing energy storage market.
Samsung announces powerful new battery for electric vehicles
Samsung’s energy storage facility is developing the next-generation of electrical vehicle battery with fast charging capabilities, greater range and a lightweight body. The batteries are intended to go on sale in 2021, which, could make Samsung the leader in electric vehicle battery market.
A novel liquid battery could hold potential for unlimited energy storage
The U.S. Army have been developing a liquid battery that could store an unlimited amount of energy. The vanadium redox flow battery uses a vanadium electrolyte in a cell to store electricity through a reaction that is one hundred per cent reversible, meaning there is no degradation. The current costs per kilowatt-hour are extremely high, but are expected to fall as the technology develops.
Enel buys U.S. energy software firm to bolster digital drive
Enel has bought software company Demand Energy, a leader in the New York City power storage market. Enel, which works in more than 30 countries, plans to use the software developed by the U.S. firm in its network business around the world.
Africa
100 MW Kathu solar project in the Northern Cape of South Africa starts construction
In October 2016, construction of the Kathu solar project began. The project is a parabolic trough concentrated solar power plant to be equipped with a molten salt storage system capable of 4.5 hours of operational capacity that is being developed by a consortium led by ENGIE.
TrinaBEST to design microgrid energy storage system in Mauritania
TrinaBEST has been awarded a contract to design and construct a hybrid energy storage system in Noukchoutt, Mauritania. The plant will comprise a 40kW solar system, a 415 kVA diesel generation system and a 320kWh energy storage system, and will be one of the largest microgrid storage projects in Mauritania.
Asia Pacific
Carnegie signs $3.69 million debt financing agreement for microgrid project that includes wave energy
Carnegie Wave Energy has secured further debt financing of its Garden Island microgrid project which will comprise of a 2MW/0.50MWh battery storage system and a 2MW solar PV system with Carnegie’s wave energy technology. This will be the first time that wave energy will be combined with solar and batteries in a microgrid configuration.
Narada completes the first commercialized energy storage system in China
Narada Power Source Co. Ltd completed the design and construction of the first phase of a commercial energy storage system of 1.5MW/12MWh capacity. By the end of 2016 Narada had already completed and contracted 800MWh of energy storage systems, and is now working on the world’s largest system for an industrial park in China with total capacity of 15MW/120MWh.
ARENA backs world-leading solar, wind and storage hybrid project in Queensland
ARENA will back the Kennedy Energy Park project with $18 million in “recoupable” grants to help fund the first stage of the project. The Kennedy Energy Park will be the first Australian project to combine solar and wind alongside battery storage. The first stage will comprise 19.2MW of solar PV, 21.6MW of wind and 2MW/4MWh of battery storage, and over time, the project may expand to 600MW of solar PV and 600MW of wind energy, and more battery storage - enough to meet one fifth of Australia’s renewable energy target.
High interest in India’s first utility-scale solar-plus-storage tender
India’s first grid-scale solar-plus-storage tender from Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has received very strong interest with a total of 13 developers bidding. The tender called for 5MW/2.5MWh battery energy storage systems to be added to two separate solar projects of 50MW each in the Kadapa Solar Park. SECI is also due to carry out a similar tender for 150-200MW of solar-plus-storage in Karnataka.
Europe
Tesla's first large scale electricity storage facility in Europe officially opened by UK Energy Minister
An energy storage project, developed by Camborne Energy using Tesla Powerpack batteries, was opened by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 7 December 2016 in Somerset, UK. The grid scale installation is the first co-located site in the UK, being co-located with a solar farm, and also the first significant installation of Tesla Powerpack batteries in Europe.
Younicos to supply Centrica with 49MW battery storage plant
In December’s capacity market auction, Centrica won over 500MW of new capacity on 15 year agreements. One of the agreements was for a 49MW battery storage facility in Cumbria, UK – one of the world’s largest energy storage facilities. Construction of the plant is expected to commence in March 2017 by Younicos.
North America
Dynexus licenses embedded battery diagnostic technology
Under an exclusive licensing agreement, Dynexus Technology will commercialise the Idaho National Laboratory’s technology to aid in analysing and forecasting the health, ageing and safety of batteries. The technology could help find uses for electric vehicle batteries once they are too old and no longer capable of use in electric cars.
Tesla starts battery cell production at the Gigafactory
On 4 January 2017, Tesla Motors announced that it had started to mass produce lithium-ion battery cells in its “Gigafactory”. Tesla plans to begin production of cells for its eagerly awaited ‘electric car for the masses’, the Model 3, in the second quarter of 2017, working towards the factory’s planned annual battery production capacity of 35GWh which is expected to be achieved in 2018.
Here’s every company that entered the US energy storage game in 2016
GTM lists companies that launched their first US energy storage product or created a new business to serve the US energy storage market in 2016. It includes, amongst others, Caterpillar, Borego Solar and Mercedez.
Latin America
Demand Energy commissions solar-plus-energy-storage microgrid at manufacturing facility in Costa Rica
Demand Energy and Rio Grande Renewables, a pioneer in developing and financing microgrids in Latin America, announced that the two companies have commissioned a battery storage-plus-solar-PV microgrid at a medical manufacturing plant in Costa Rica.