Global
Battery manufacturers make bold moves in energy storage and EVs
Large battery manufacturers are making bold moves in the energy storage and EV sector with the announcement that Sony will finally be entering the sector. This follows the recent announcement from Samsung SDI that it has opened a battery manufacturing factory in Hungary, and aggressive growth strategies at Panasonic, LG Chem and BYD.
Africa
Aquion announces off-grid battery and solar energy project in Kenya
Aquion Energy, manufacturer of aqueous hybrid ion batteries and energy storage systems, and SolarAfrica, a leading African solar energy services company, recently announced a newly installed off-grid micro-grid at the Loisaba Conservancy, Kenya.
ViZn Energy Systems and Jabil Inala Partner to power Africa
ViZn Energy Systems, a leading provider of zinc and iron chemistry-based flow battery energy storage systems for utilities and micro-grids, recently announced that they will be partnering with Jabil Inala to offer turnkey storage solutions to the African power market. Around 600 million people in Africa do not have access to electricity, which, coupled with the lack of large centralised grid infrastructure, means Africa has good potential for the establishment of microgrids, including storage technology.
Trade Ministers from South Africa and Saudi Arabia inaugurate ACWA Power's Solafrica Bokpoort concentrated solar power project
The Bokpoort Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) Project has been officially inaugurated, developed by a consortium led by ACWA Power in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. The project has an estimated capex of R5billion and is one of the highest solar radiation footprints in the world. The completion of the project will provide 220,000MWh per annum of power to more than 200,000 homes. The plant has a thermal storage capacity of 9.3 hours of full load operation.
Asia Pacific
LG CNS to build energy storage system at wind farms in Jeju, South Korea
LG CNS will build a 27MWh energy storage system for wind power output stabilisation in Jeju, the largest of its kind on the island. The affiliate of LG Group will also establish an 18MWh and 9MWh energy storage system at the Dongbok-Bukchon wind farm and Gasisri wind farm, respectively, and manage the power storage systems for the next 15 years after the installation.
Enel signs framework cooperation agreement with BYD Co Ltd.
In July 2016 Enel SpA signed a global framework cooperation agreement with BYD Co Ltd., a Chinese manufacturer of automobiles and rechargeable batteries, for the development of joint projects in electric mobility and energy storage. The agreement will pave the way for possible cooperation on projects targeting electric buses and other transport services, as well as residential commercial and industrial applications based on BYD's lithium batteries.
Developers target Australia to test business case for home battery storage
Australia's high (but diminishing) tariffs, high solar penetration, competitive markets and strong consumer interest make it a global testing ground for rooftop solar and household batteries, but the market is still in its exploratory phase.
Trina Energy Storage Solution sets up subsidiary in Japan
Trina Energy Storage Solution, also known as TrinaBEST, a sister company of Trina Solar, recently announced it has set up a subsidiary in Tokyo, Japan. The new operations centre will offer energy storage products for residential and commercial applications with the hope of 'establishing long-term relationships with Japanese companies that share a similar vision of promoting the uses of alternative energy'.
China's Tianqi Lithium to build US$306m plant in Australia
China's Tianqi Lithium Industries is set to build a US$306m plant in Australia with the aim to open in late 2018. This will expand the Tianqi's output of lithium hydroxide, particularly for lithium batteries used in electric cars and high-end energy storage.
Nissan allegedly in talks to divest stake in EV battery business
Japanese automaker Nissan is reported to want to sell its 51 percent stake in Automotive Energy Supply Corp., which is jointly owned by NEC Corp., because it would be cheaper to buy batteries for electric vehicles such as the Leaf from other producers, according to the Nikkei daily newspaper.
ENGIE are developing renewable energy storage for power and green mobility
ENGIE is ready to overhaul the electricity industry with a new solution: hydrogen energy storage for solar power.
Europe
RWE Innogy to acquire Belectric solar and energy storage
Innogy SE, the renewable energy subsidiary of German utility RWE, has signed a share purchase agreement to take over the solar and energy storage business of Belectric at a share price agreement in the “high double-digit million euro range”. As well as focusing on the European market, Belectric’s solar and storage services expand over the MENA region, India, South America and the US, enabling RWE to signficantly widen its regional scope.
BMW is getting into home energy storage with used i3 batteries
BMW announced today that it's working with Germany's Beck Automation to use complete i3 battery packs as a home energy storage solution. As with other car companies getting into this business — notably Daimler and Tesla — the idea is to store energy from renewable sources like solar so that it's available even when energy isn't being generated. It's also useful as a backup power source should traditional power fail, for example in a storm or an area with an unreliable grid.
Statoil to trial triple revenue stream at offshore wind-storage project
Earlier this year Statoil announced it will install a pilot 1MWh lithium-ion battery system to store energy from the 30 MW Hywind pilot park off the coast of Peterhead in Aberdeenshire, Scotland (the world's first floating wind farm). The company expects that battery storage could improve the efficiency and lower the costs for offshore wind, raising the value of wind energy for both the company and its customers. Experts suggest that the investment may have further strategic value, allowing access to new revenue opportunities.
Installation of vanadium redox flow battery could revolutionise the global renewables sector in the UK
A government-funded trial of a vanadium redox flow battery the size of a shipping container has commenced on the Isle of Gigha (Scotland, UK). The developers, RedT, claim it has the potential of revolutionising the renewables sector due to its scalability and commercial viability. Although RedT is not the first to test vanadium flow batteries (Japan's Sumitomo Electric Industries and German manufacturer Gildemeister are already involved) RedT claims it can sell the batteries at half the price or less of its rivals.
Gaelectric to get EUR8.28m EU funds for energy storage project
Renewable energy and energy storage group Gaelectric is to receive EUR8.28m in funding from the EU to develop 330MW compressed air energy storage project in Northern Ireland. This is the first in a pipeline of projects which the company is developing across Europe.
ENGIE and SUSI partners have signed an MOU to finance EUR50m of grid-scale storage projects
Earlier this year, ENGIE and SUSI Partners signed a Memorandum of Understanding to promote grid-scale power storage projects. SUSI will contribute EUR50m in equity for projects that ENGIE intends to develop within the energy sector. With this partnership ENGIE aims to diversify the risk of development of new business models. It also gains access to a further source of financing for its future power storage activity.
Volkswagen’s tremendous transformation to electric vehicles
In its Together – Strategy 2025, Volkswagen has placed special emphasis on e-mobility. The group is planning a broad-based initiative: it intends to launch more than 30 purely battery-powered electric vehicles (BEVs) over the next ten years. Volkswagen estimates that such vehicles could then account for around a quarter of the global passenger car market and forecasts that its own BEV sales will be between two and three million units in 2025, equivalent to some 20 to 25 percent of the total unit sales expected at that time. In this context, the group has entered into early talks with the Germany-based solar energy firm SMA Solar about a potential energy storage business collaboration, according to recent reports.
North America
Powin Energy selected for 2MW/8MWh energy storage project
Powin Energy, U.S. manufacturer and developer of energy storage systems, has been selected by Southern California Edison to complete a 2MW/8MWh energy storage system that should be operational in Irvine, California by the end of 2016. This is to help alleviate power loss concerns due to the Aliso Canyon natural gas leak.
Adara Power introduces the iC3 software platform for commercial energy storage
Adara Power, a privately-held Silicon Valley company is expanding its portfolio with the launch of its iC3 platform. The Adara iC3 Platform integrates battery and inverter controls with cloud-based software and a robust IoT connectivity solution. The platform will initially launch with a scalable 125kWh, 250kWh inverter and battery suitable for commercial-scale applications.
Sentinel Solar develops new energy storage system
Sentinal Solar, a Canadian owned and operated solar products manufacturing and distribution company, unveiled its new energy storage system (ESS), AHITM Wave, at the 2016 Solar Power International Conference in Las Vegas. The AHITM Wave ESS is designed for residential use on new and existing grid interactive and off-grid energy storage applications.
RES announces agreement to construct and operate the Lamesa solar facility
RES announced it will construct and serve as the operations and maintenance contractor for the 102MW Lamesa solar facility located in Dawson County, Texas. RES recently sold the project to Southern Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company.
Daimler completes US$ 500m supply agreement with North Star Battery
Daimler Trucks North America has recently entered into a 7-year agreement with Swedish American energy storage manufacturer, North Star Battery Company as the supplier of Ultra High Performance Pure Lead AGM batteries as part of the improvements being made to the next generation Cascadia truck.
Tesla reduces price of their Powerpack and commercial inverter
When it comes to energy storage, bringing the price down by as little as one per cent can open up the technology to a new market. Tesla Energy, the automaker’s energy storage division, did just that by recently reducing the price of its commercial and utility-scale product, the Powerpack, by 5 per cent and its bi-directional 250kW inverter by 19 per cent.
NEC unveils new battery system
NEC Energy Solutions recently announced it is seeking partners for a new lithium-ion Distributed Energy Storage System (DESS). The platform is scalable from 85kWh to 510kWh of capacity and offers from 30kW up to 650kW of power capability. Commercial availability of the system is expected in the first quarter of 2017 in North America.
Southern California Edison plans two 10MW battery storage projects
In September 2016, Southern California Edison filed a letter with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission agreeing with itself to be the project developer for the Centre Install EGT Project, an energy storage facility in Norwalk, California, to be operating by December 2016.
New concept turns battery technology upside-down
A new approach to the design of a liquid battery, using a passive, gravity-fed arrangement similar to an old-fashioned hourglass, could offer great advantages due to the system’s low cost and the simplicity of its design and operation, says a team of MIT researchers who have made a demonstration version of the new battery. This new liquid flow battery, which substitutes a simple gravity feed for the traditional pump system, eliminates complexity and reduces the possibility of leaks and failures.
USA DoE Announces 16 new projects to transform energy storage and conversion
Integration and Optimization of Novel Ion-Conducting Solids (IONICS) project teams are paving the way for technologies that overcome the limitations of current battery and fuel cell products. IONICS projects will use new materials and processes to achieve advances such as increasing battery energy capacity while preventing short circuits and battery degradation. In particular, IONICS projects will work to improve energy storage and conversion technologies in three categories: transportation batteries, grid-level storage, and fuel cells.
Latin America
US Trade and Development Agency supports energy storage in Latin America
In July 2016, the US Trade and Development Agency awarded a grant to Interconexión Eléctrica S.A, an electricity transmission company in Latin America, to identify opportunities for large-scale battery storage across Brazil, Colombia and Mexico.
Sonnedix launches 1.25 MWh Aquion battery project in Puerto Rico
The independent power producer Sonnedix has commissioned a grid-scale, 1.25 MWh Aquion Aqueous Hybrid Ion Battery to provide power to a 16MW solar plant in Puerto Rico. This is one of the first near grid-independent storage projects for the region.