Silicon Investor - Electron Energy Storage

[Eric] From: Eric 4/15/2026 8:43:59 AM of 1596220 MARKETS India’s behind-the-me...

Eric — 4/15/2026 8:53:14 AM

From: Eric	4/15/2026 8:43:59 AM
	of 1596220

MARKETS India’s behind-the-meter stationary storage market to surpass 39 GWh by 2033, says IESA A new report by the India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) and Customised Energy Solutions (CES) projects India’s behind-the-meter (BTM) stationary energy storage market to grow from 32 GWh in annual demand in 2025 to over 39 GWh by 2033. By Uma Gupta Apr 15, 2026 Markets Image: Yann Forget/Wikimedia Commons A new report by the India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) and Customised Energy Solutions (CES) projects India’s behind-the-meter (BTM) stationary energy storage market to grow from 32 GWh in annual demand in 2025 to over 39 GWh by 2033. The BTM systems include onsite energy generation and storage located on the customer’s side of the utility meter, such as rooftop solar panels, battery storage, as well as batteries for backup applications installed with UPS systems, inverters, and telecom towers. These systems enable direct use of generated or stored energy without passing through the grid. The report highlights that India’s stationary storage market is at a tipping point. As the cost of lithium-ion batteries and solar-plus-storage systems continues to tumble, more businesses and consumers across India are turning to on-site energy storage to manage rising grid tariffs and ensure reliable power. In 2024, the levelized cost of energy from a rooftop solar system with storage hovered around 6-7 per kWh, already approaching parity with average commercial grid tariffs in key states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka. CES analysts predict that by 2026, solar-plus-storage will be cost-competitive for more commercial users nationwide, with industrial users expected to follow closely behind. “Lower technology costs, progressive policies, and the urgent need for reliable power are converging to make BTM storage an integral part of India’s energy ecosystem,” said Debmalya Sen, president, India Energy Storage Alliance. “The projected growth to 39 GWh by 2033 reflects not just surging demand, but a paradigm shift in how businesses and consumers interact with energy. The next decade will be defined by smart storage and domestic innovation.” The CES report reveals that while lead acid batteries still dominate the BTM landscape, holding more than 85% of the market in 2025, lithium-ion technology is rapidly gaining ground. In the telecom sector alone, lithium-ion batteries now account for an impressive 77% of new installations. The UPS and rooftop solar segments are also seeing a good momentum in lithium battery adoption. Domestic manufacturing of lithium-ion battery cells is also taking off. Major players such as Reliance Industries, Ola Electric, Tata Group, Exide and others are investing billions to build up to 95 GWh of battery manufacturing capacity, supported by the government’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme. The report further notes that while central and state policies, such as net metering, time-of-day tariffs, and, are expected to positively impact demand, the traditional reliance on inverter backup and microgrids may diminish in regions where grid reliability is on the rise. Nevertheless, persistent outages in certain states, coupled with the ongoing need for cost management and resilience, ensure continued robust demand for advanced storage solutions. The market also sees significant new players entering lithium battery manufacturing, with more than 30 notable pack assemblers now operating across India’s major industrial regions. Comprehensive in its scope, the report not only covers rooftop solar and telecom towers but also railways, rural microgrids, streetlights, and decentralised installations, providing segment-by-segment forecasts and technology trends through 2033. From pv magazine India. ess-news.com

[Eric] PROJECTS & APPLICATIONS Chile round-up: Approval for 1,409 MWh Black BESS proje...

Eric — 4/15/2026 8:52:40 AM

PROJECTS & APPLICATIONS

Chile round-up: Approval for 1,409 MWh Black BESS project, Enel Chile begins Azabache BESS build

The autumn season in Chile is not slowing down projects, with construction beginning at one site, and a new project approved for nearly 2 GWh of storage across the pair.

By
Tristan Rayner

Apr 15, 2026

Grid-scale
Projects & Applications

Image: SEIA

Chile’s vibrant energy storage market continues to move forward with approvals and construction commencements

In the first instance, the 350 MW / 1,409 MWh Black BESS Transmission Line and Storage Plant project, developed by Inversiones Black Solar, part of the Mack Energy group, has obtained its Environmental Qualification Resolution (RCA) and features 4 hours of storage capacity, in addition to an associated transmission line. The initiative has the support of AG Energía in the environmental field and of Anabática Renovables in engineering, and obtained the RCA after an evaluation process that lasted approximately six months.

The standalone battery energy storage system (BESS), with an estimated investment of $220 million, will be located in the municipality of Camarones in the country’s northernmost region, Arica y Parinacota.

Beyond the core battery system, the approved project infrastructure also includes a proprietary step-up substation (designated as the “Black Step-up Substation”), an associated 220 kV underground transmission line spanning 105 meters, and a direct interconnection to an existing network switchgear and substation to inject the stored power back into the grid.

The infrastructure will be located on a 6.37-hectare site adjacent to the Roncacho substation, with access from a nearby road.

The project envisions a 16-month construction period and a 25-year lifespan. During the construction phase, an average workforce of 72 employees is estimated, with a maximum of 92, while during operation, between 5 and 8 people will be required.

Enel Chile begins construction of Azabache BESS, with 94 MW / 372 MWh of storage in Antofagasta

Enel Green Power Chile announced the start of construction of Azabache BESS, a battery storage system that will be integrated into the renewable energy complex located 10 kilometers from Calama, in the Antofagasta region, with the aim of adding a third technology to the site, where the Azabache solar plant and the Valle de los Vientos wind farm already operate together.

According to the company, the system will have an installed capacity of 94 MW, comprised of 36 MW of wind power and 58 MW of photovoltaic power, and a storage capacity of 372 MWh. Enel stated that the project will allow for the combination of solar and wind power generation and storage at the same site.

The facility joins BESS Las Salinas, also in the Antofagasta region, whose construction began in November 2025. In that case, Enel announced the start of construction of a 205 MW system, integrated into the Las Salinas hybrid park.

Regarding the new battery system, the company explained that its function will be to shift the renewable energy production curve and allow for energy delivery during the hours when the electrical grid requires it. Enel added that, with the addition of storage, the complex will be able to generate power for practically the entire day, with solar energy coming in between midday and the afternoon and with a greater contribution from wind power in the later hours, when wind intensity increases.

New Minister for Energy offers positive comments

Also in recent weeks, the new Minister for Energy in Chile, Ximena Rincón, made positive comments for the energy storage and renewables industry at Chile’s Re+ Cono sur conference.

The Minister recalled her early support for the net billing law and stressed the need to “stop relying on fossil fuels.”

“Chile is committed to renewable energies and storage. Chile is committed to promoting energy efficiency. Chile is committed to having electricity in our transport and to thinking and planning long-term. Only then will we be able to take advantage not only of our natural resources, but also the intelligence, disposition, and preparation of men and women in our country,” she said.

Rincón noted that in 2012, skeptics deemed it “impossible” to mandate that power companies meet a 5% non-conventional renewable energy quota.

“Today, we are pioneers in renewable energy in Latin America. Today, the challenge is how to avoid losing that renewable energy, so there is no curtailment; there is a full push for storage and batteries.”

Minister Rincón finally stated that the development of renewable energies requires progress in enabling infrastructure, particularly in storage and transmission systems.

The words were “very well received by the representatives of the sector present at the event,” noted pv magazine‘s Luis Ini.

From pv magazine LatAm: Black BESS project, Enel Chile builds Azabache BESS

ess-news.com

[Eric] Construction and concrete pours begin on third stage of massive battery, adding ...

Eric — 4/15/2026 7:42:53 AM

Construction and concrete pours begin on third stage of massive battery, adding another 312 Tesla Megapacks

Image Credit: UGL, via LinkedIn

Joshua S Hill

Apr 15, 2026

Battery
Storage

Work is underway on a third stage of the massive Western Downs Battery in Queensland, which will virtually double the size of the energy storage system to 845 megawatts (MW)/2,300 megawatt-hours (MWh).

The Western Downs Battery is currently owned and operated by Neoen Australia, which in turn is now owned by global funds management giant Brookfield.

Neoen, which built Australia’s first big battery at Hornsdale in South Australia in 2017, has built the Western Downs Battery in stages, with the first 270 MW/540 MWh stage completed in mid-2025, and the second stage doubling the battery’s size to 540 MW/1,040 MWh completed later in the year.

The company announced in December that it planned to continue expanding the project with a third stage that would add another 305 MW/1,220 MWh, taking the battery’s total size to 845 MW/2,300 MWh.

Once completed, this third stage expansion will see the Western Downs Battery become Neoen’s largest battery in Australia, in terms of storage (but not power), just pipping the 560 MW, 2,240 MWh Collie battery.

The third stage expansion is being built by local engineering company UGL, which also delivered the second expansion ahead of schedule.

Work underway is now focused on bulk earthworks, trenching and concrete works, and preparing the site for the installation of the 312 Tesla Megapacks 2XL units.

“Our team is committed to maintaining momentum and delivering each phase with the same focus on safety, precision and performance,” said Jack Connors, UGL project manager.

“It’s exciting to see the project already contributing to Queensland’s grid from its previous stages while we focus on constructing a third stage.”

The Western Downs Battery is located directly adjacent to the 400 MW Western Downs solar farm, which is also owned by Neoen.

reneweconomy.com.au

[Eric] R&D Researchers make significant advancement into thermal runaway-free sodium-i...

Eric — 4/10/2026 2:09:58 PM

R&D

Researchers make significant advancement into thermal runaway-free sodium-ion batteries

The development of a Polymerizable Non-flammable Electrolyte appears to have helped sodium-ion batteries towards a eureka moment for safety.

By
Tristan Rayner

Apr 10, 2026

R&D
Technologies

Image: China.com / cas.cn

A team of researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Physics has published a paper in Nature Energy showing a potentially game-changing development in electrolytes for sodium-ion batteries that may accelerate the commercial use of sodium-ion technology.

The team, led by Professor Hu Yongsheng, claimed the world’s first “zero thermal runaway” in ampere-hour-level sodium-ion batteries. The breakthrough is the development of a self-protecting Polymerizable Non-flammable Electrolyte (PNE), which appears to have largely solved a core safety aspect of batteries.

The breakthrough centers on a transition from passive fire retardation to active thermal blocking from the PNE material, which as a system, employs a three-in-one defense to what the researchers claim eliminates fire and explosion risks:

First, the electrolyte is engineered with specific decomposition characteristics that absorb heat during the early stages of a thermal event, effectively neutralizing the exothermic reactions that typically drive runaway.

Next, the PNE exhibits phase-change properties. In a process dubbed in situ thermal polymerization, at temperatures exceeding 150°C, the liquid electrolyte undergoes a phase change into a solid polymer network. This creates a physical barrier that prevents separator melting and internal short circuits, and halts gas generation.

In the third mechanism, a dual-salt system forms protective layers on both the cathode and anode. This maintains structural integrity under high-voltage operation and extends cycle life.

A translation of the press release via China.com claims “The electrolyte system uses only commercially available, conventional raw materials, making it cost-effective, easy to scale up, and highly valuable for industrial application. In the future, this technology will provide a novel solution for high-energy-density, high-safety batteries.”

The paper in Nature Energy also claims the PNE-based battery has “successfully passed the nail penetration test and the 300C hot box test, demonstrating its ultimate safety and reliability. At the same time, this breakthrough safety performance has not sacrificed electrochemical performance; the battery possesses a wide temperature adaptability from -40C to 60C and high-voltage stability exceeding 4.3V, balancing high safety and high energy density.”

“Thermal runaway-free ampere-hour-level Na-ion battery via polymerizable non-flammable electrolyte,” was published in Nature Energy, DOI: 10.1038/s41560-026-02032-7.

ess-news.com

My comments:

China continues to kick butt in science.

Eric

[Eric] INDUSTRY Key takeaways from ESIE 2026 (Pt 1): China storage enters a more dis...

Eric — 4/10/2026 2:09:38 PM

INDUSTRY

Key takeaways from ESIE 2026 (Pt 1): China storage enters a more disciplined growth phase

Vincent Shaw reports from the floor of China’s major energy storage tradeshow.

By
Vincent Shaw

Apr 10, 2026

Industry

HyperStrong | Image: ESS News

At ESIE 2026, the 14th Energy Storage International Summit and Exhibition in Beijing, scale was not in short supply. The show brought together more than 800 companies, featured more than 150 product launches, and made clear that China’s storage industry is far beyond its early expansion phase.

The industry is instead moving into a more selective stage, where the key questions are less about whether storage will grow, but more about which technologies, architectures, and application scenarios will define the next round of value creation.

One immediate impression from the exhibition floor was that the industry looked less euphoric than in previous years, but more grounded. Vendors were still pushing claims on safety, cost and performance, yet the stronger signal was convergence. Cell formats are getting bigger, grid-forming power conversion is more popular, and AI data center applications are emerging as one of the clearest new demand anchors.

Large-format cells have moved from experiment to mainstream

If one product theme dominated the battery halls, it was the normalization of 500 Ah-plus formats. In particular, 588 Ah-class cells appeared to be the new center of gravity, with CATL (which holds slightly smaller size of 587 Ah), CALB, and REPT all using that range to balance energy density, cycle life, and system integration economics.

CATL’s 587 Ah storage cell, already in large-scale commercialization with cumulative shipments above 5 GWh, showed how quickly this format has moved into the mainstream. CALB, meanwhile, used ESIE 2026 to reinforce its long-cycle positioning with 392 Ah, 588 Ah, and 661 Ah products built around 15,000-cycle performance and a 25-year calendar life.

At the upper end, some pushed far beyond the new standard. Envision presented a 790 Ah prismatic wound cell with energy density above 440 Wh/L and cycle life above 15,000 cycles, while BYD showcased a 2,710 Ah blade battery for storage and paired it with its Haohan system architecture. These launches suggest the industry is still testing the upper boundary of cell enlargement, even as 588 Ah becomes the practical mainstream.

Grid-forming PCS is becoming a baseline requirement rather than a premium option

Another strong signal from the show was the rapid normalization of grid-forming capabilities. What was once treated as a specialized feature is now being presented as core infrastructure for large-scale storage. The shift has been gradual until now, where storage is now increasingly an active grid-support asset capable of voltage and frequency stabilization.

Kehua Digital Energy placed its grid-forming and grid-following integrated booster stations at the center of its display, highlighting highly integrated 6.25 MW and 6.9 MW platforms designed to reduce footprint and civil works. Hoypower promoted a 1,725 kW-rated grid-forming PCS with black-start capability, frequency support, and weak-grid adaptability. Sineng Electric also emphasized grid-forming PCS and larger integrated conversion stations, underscoring how central the category has become.

What matters here is not just product count but cost normalization. According to observations on the floor and in discussions, the earlier 10%-15% premium over conventional systems has largely disappeared. That makes grid-forming less of a niche premium and more of a competitive necessity. The caveat, however, is that the show also hinted at growing “false labeling,” with some vendors using the term without demonstrating full off-grid or short-circuit capabilities. In other words, grid-forming has become mainstream enough to attract imitation.

AI data center storage is emerging as the most compelling new demand story

ESIE 2026 also made clear that AI data center (AIDC) storage has become a concrete fact, rather than fashionable. Nearly every major integrator seemed to have an “AIDC + storage” narrative, reflecting a broader market recognition that AI infrastructure places unusual demands on power systems, including high power density, rapid fluctuations, and very high reliability requirements. Conventional grid supply alone is now insufficient for that load profile.

Envision offered one of the most complete narratives, linking dedicated large cells, sodium-ion development and full-stack energy management to an end-to-end solution for AI-era power supply. Its reference project with Tencent in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, was described as the world’s first 100% renewable-powered data center, with more than 40% lower integrated energy costs and annual carbon reductions of 180,000 tons.

Other exhibitors focused more narrowly on the power-quality and backup requirements of the segment. Guangzhou Great Power introduced its Hanhai 85 Ah energy storage battery cell for data center use, designed for 10C discharge and millisecond response. Shuangdeng, meanwhile, highlighted a semi-solid-state 8 MWh system and dedicated AIDC products aimed at intrinsic safety and fast response, while NARADA promoted a new backup platform with single-cabinet power above 600 kW and very high pulse capability.

The result is that the hyperscaler data center is beginning to shape product design itself, from high-rate cells to safety chemistry choices and DC-side architectures. ESIE 2026 did not suggest that China’s storage sector has solved its deeper challenges. Price pressure remains intense, and the gap between inquiry volume and real orders is still a concern. But the show did point to a more mature industry logic.

Bigger cells are no longer a novelty, grid-forming is becoming standard practice, and AI-linked demand is giving suppliers a clearer next market. The sector still faces margin stress, but it now looks more technically anchored than it did a year ago.

ess-news.com

[Eric] U.S. Battery Expansion Surges Ahead of Demand Curve By Felicity Bradstock - A...

Eric — 4/5/2026 9:25:47 AM

U.S. Battery Expansion Surges Ahead of Demand Curve

By Felicity Bradstock - Apr 04, 2026, 2:00 PM CDT

U.S. battery production capacity is growing so rapidly that it may exceed domestic demand by 2026
Government incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act have driven major foreign investment and reduced manufacturing costs
Despite expansion, the U.S. remains heavily dependent on China for critical battery materials and supply chain inputs

The United States is rapidly becoming a major international battery manufacturing power, as it works to compete with other producers, such as China. The battery manufacturing industry is forecast to grow so much in the coming years that supply may soon outstrip demand.

Demand for batteries in the United States has grown significantly in recent years, with demand for energy storage expected to increase by 21 percent this year. This has been driven primarily by the increase in the deployment of renewable energy capacity across the U.S., which requires battery storage to ensure a stable supply of energy through the day and night. Going forward, the accelerated rollout of data centres is expected to drive demand even further.

The U.S. battery manufacturing industry has been rapidly growing since the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in 2022, under President Biden. The IRA introduced incentives for both domestic battery manufacturers and for storage developers who use U.S.-made products. In addition to supporting the accelerated growth in the U.S. renewable energy and cleantech market, increasing domestic battery production has helped reduce the country’s reliance on foreign supply chains, and, particularly, on Chinese batteries.

According to data from the Centre on Global Energy Policy, the IRA awarded credits for local investment and production that drove down battery-making costs by as much as 30 percent. This helped to attract foreign investment to the U.S. market and was particularly appealing to Korean producers who aimed to compete with China in a market in which they did not have access.

Last year, U.S. production plants had the capacity to manufacture around 70 GWh of complete grid storage systems annually, a figure that could rise to 145 GWh this year. This means that the U.S. can now produce enough batteries to meet domestic demand. In 2026, around 28 percent of new U.S. power plant capacity is expected to be dedicated to battery production, with domestic production expected to outstrip demand by the end of the year.

Noah Roberts, the executive director of the U.S. Energy Storage Coalition, stated, “For the first time, the United States now has the capacity to supply 100 percent of domestic energy storage project demand with American-built systems. That is a fundamental shift from where we were just a year and a half ago, when the majority of battery storage systems were imported.”

The current production capacity marks a significant shift from the situation just two years ago, when the U.S. had almost no factory capacity for battery cells designed for grid usage, which are different to those used in electric vehicles. The industry growth has been supported by major investments from foreign companies, such as LG and Samsung. South Korean producers have invested around $20 billion in expanding capacity and are expected to contribute over two-fifths of the growth in production between 2025 and 2029, Benchmark Minerals estimated in 2024.

In 2025, Korea’s LG Energy Solution Vertech developed a dedicated cell production line for grid storage in Holland, Michigan, expanding production capacity to 16.5 GWh through a $1.4 billion project. The firm is expected to continue growing its manufacturing capacity across North America to reach 50 GWh by the end of the year. LG had previously focused on producing EV batteries at the plant, but with the EV market struggling and the demand for grid-scale batteries increasing, LG shifted lanes.

Despite the massive growth in the U.S. battery manufacturing capacity, the country still relies heavily on imports of high-value battery materials from countries such as China. For storage alone, the U.S. has imported over $100 billion in batteries and components since 2021, according to S&P Global, around half of which came from China. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), “The lack of investment in midstream supply chains in these markets poses a growing risk to global supply security.”

The IEA adds that production capacity and technical expertise for essential components, such as active materials and their precursors, remain heavily concentrated in China. Korea and Japan are the only other countries with notable midstream battery industries, offering opportunities to diversify some component sources. Nearly all batteries used for power grids rely on China for at least one step of their supply chain.”

With the introduction of high tariffs on multiple Chinese products under the Trump administration, there are always fears of retaliatory duties from China. Beijing still controls supply chains for the raw materials, such as graphite, meaning that battery producers in the U.S. must maintain good relations with their Chinese counterparts, which could be hindered if political relations between the two countries become strained.

The United States has significantly increased its battery manufacturing capacity in recent years, shifting from a focus on EV battery production to grid-scale storage. Significant incentives, introduced by the Biden administration, have encouraged high levels of foreign investment in the sector, particularly from Korean companies. However, the continued dependence on China and other countries for raw materials presents a risk to the supply chain, particularly with the ongoing geopolitical tensions and conflicts being seen across the globe.

oilprice.com

[Eric] Reuters 09:41 AM EDT, 03/09/2026 UPDATE 1-China's CATL beats estimates as batt...

Eric — 3/9/2026 9:55:11 AM

Reuters

09:41 AM EDT, 03/09/2026

UPDATE 1-China's CATL beats estimates as battery profit growth quickens

0.00%

+3.71%

CATL's Q4 profit up 57.1% y/y, fastest in 2-1/2 years

Full-year profit up 42.3%, topping estimates

Competition heats up with BYD's fast-charging battery upgrade

BEIJING, March 9 (Reuters) - Chinese electric vehicle battery maker CATL 300750.SZ's net profit rose by a better-than-expected 57.1% in the fourth quarter, in the face of oversupply issues, intensifying competition and U.S. scrutiny of its relationship with Ford.

Fourth-quarter profit rose 57.1% from a year earlier to 23.17 billion yuan ($3.35 billion), compared with a 41.2% rise in the third quarter, the biggest gain in two-and-a-half years, according to a stock filing on Monday.

The fourth-quarter number was above analysts' forecast of a 40.9% increase, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Revenue was up 36.6% to 140.6 billion yuan versus a 12.9% increase in the third quarter. Analysts had expected a 23.8% rise.

For the whole of 2025, its profit topped estimates with a 42.3% growth, the fastest in three years.

CATL - which supplies the biggest EV brands including Tesla, Xiaomi and Nio - has dialled up investments in battery swapping stations and mounted advertising campaigns at railway stations and airports.

It has also stepped up expansion into Europe and Asia, consolidating its market leadership.

The EV battery specialist widened its lead last year with a 39.2% share of global EV battery usage from 38% in 2024, followed by BYD 002594.SZ, 1211.HK whose share slid from 16.9% to 16.4%, according to SNE Research.

There were questions over its partnership with Ford F.N after a U.S. House committee chair queried the licensing terms and technology transfer implications.

CATL also faces intensified competition this year, and China's auto market - the world's largest - is on track for the worst year since 2020 when the economy was battered by the pandemic.

Its closest rival BYD on Thursday unveiled its first major battery upgrade in six years, promising rapid charging even in cold weather.

BYD also announced a plan to establish a network of 20,000 fast-charging stations, supported by energy storage systems, by the end of 2026, a move analysts say could drive increased adoption of energy storage batteries.

CATL's share of the global market for lithium-ion batteries for energy storage systems remained unchanged at 30% last year while its shipments jumped 80% year-on-year, data from SNE Research showed. Revenue from the energy storage sector accounted for 14.7% of CATL's overall sales in 2025.

[Ron] Are solid state batteries the answer? This company claims a breakthrough but sk...

Ron — 1/18/2026 5:41:55 PM

Are solid state batteries the answer? This company claims a breakthrough
but skeptics will wait and see.
washingtonpost.com
archive.ph

[Eric] [graphic] Why the Sudden Emergence Sodium-Ion Batteries? 1 hour ago ...

Eric — 1/6/2026 12:11:48 PM

Why the Sudden Emergence Sodium-Ion Batteries?

1 hour ago

Christopher Arcus 2 Comments

Support CleanTechnica's work through a Substack subscription or on Stripe.

There are many questions about what is happening with sodium-ion batteries today. For example, to most people, news that CATL expects to commercialize sodium-ion batteries for EVs in 2026 with 310 mile range comes as quite a surprise.

Background

There are several different sodium-ion battery cathodes, just as there are many lithium-ion battery cathode chemistries. Lithium-ion batteries are named by their cathodes, metal oxides. Lithium-ion anodes are primarily graphite, a highly ordered form of carbon. Lithium electrolytes often consist of an organic solvent such as ethylene chloride, combined with a lithium compound. Sodium-ion batteries use a sodium compound and its own selection of solvent. In addition, some efforts are being made to substitute solid electrolytes for liquid ones, but this has not emerged yet.

Let’s look at some previous sodium-ion batteries from a few companies. Then we can get an idea of what the existing sodium-ion batteries are like for perspective before we look at what CATL has announced. Then we can see what changes were made in the new Naxtra design to assess the differences and improvements. Previously, CATL achieved 160 Wh/kg using a Prussian white and hard carbon anode, 15 minute charge to 80%, and capacity retention of over 90% to -20°C. Because of the design, it could achieve a system integration efficiency at the pack level of 80%.

Using a layered oxide cathode and hard carbon anode, Faradion achieved 155 Wh/kg, similar temperature range, and 3,000 cycle life. With polyanion and hard carbon, Tiamat achieved 90–120 Wh/kg and 5,000 cycles. Natron used a Prussian blue cathode and anode to achieve 20–30 Wh/kg and 25,000 cycle life from -20°C to 40°C. Early HiNa cells used hard carbon to create cells at 111 Wh/kg and 248 Wh/l.

Different battery chemistries have a wide range of performance specifications. Comparisons can be made with a selection of anode, cathode, and electrolyte. All sodium-ion batteries have wider temperature operation, from -40°C to 70°C with 90% retention, while lithium loses battery capacity rapidly below -10°C and is non operational at -40°C, particularly LFP. Among lithium batteries, only lithium titanate ( LTO) also does 10,000 cycles and beyond. Sodium-ion batteries are more fireproof than lithium-ion batteries. Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) are more tolerant of voltage, and SIB allows complete discharge to zero volts. Some of SIB operate without a battery management system (BMS). This is impossible with lithium because over voltage results in fire and thermal runaway, and under voltage results in a permanently dead battery. In safety tests, sodium ion is able to withstand temperatures of several hundred degrees Celsius before burning.

Don’t try that with lithium. LFP is fairly fireproof compared to NMC, but not as fireproof as SIB. Recent stringent Chinese government safety standards for fire and explosion are met by CATL’s Naxtra sodium-ion batteries, and all but rule out NMC.

History

In 1980, Newman demonstrated reversible sodium-ion transfer in TiS2, titanium disulfide. Even though sodium-ion worked, most attention was on lithium-ion batteries, like lithium-cobalt, that achieved commercial success starting in 1991 with Sony.

One of the things that moved sodium-ion development forward was the discovery that hard carbon could be used for anodes. D. A. Stevens and Jeff Dahn research revealed glucose-based hard carbon as an anode in 2000. After 2010, research into sodium-ion chemstries increased rapidly. Faradion was founded in 2011. HiNa was founded and introduced product in 2017. By the 2020s, there were many sodium-ion battery companies, including Faradion, Natron, Northvolt, HiNa, Tiamat, Farasis, and Alsym, while CATL and BYD added sodium-ion batteries to their offerings.

Why Sodium-Ion Appeared Suddenly

Sodium-ion batteries were available as far back as 2017. While most attention was on NMC, less attention was paid to other chemistries. Sodium-ion performance increased rapidly. First-generation batteries were suitable for low-energy-density applications, with 100 to 140 Wh/kg and up to 290 Wh/l used in energy storage and e-bikes. These early SIBs used hard carbon to achieve good success, even being introduced in small cars.

HiNa and others were making headway with SIBs and they made progress in energy storage, where low energy density is not an issue. Competition for EVs and batteries is intense in China, and the market is large. The two largest battery companies in China and the world, CATL and BYD, also took note of SIBs and developed their own. They applied large research departments to SIB development.

While sodium-ion chemistry advanced, LFP made headway against NMC, encroaching at the entry level by improving cell density and taking advantage of better pack volume efficiency than NMC. The first Tesla LFP packs used Blade battery cells with 166 Wh/kg and 365 Wh/l to achieve pack density of 125 Wh/kg and a cell-to-pack mass ratio of 74%.

Researchers found that sodium could be made using the same manufacturing equipment and battery development techniques. With lower materials costs, in full production, sodium-ion batteries could achieve LFP-level performance and lower cost. HiNa states it is able to make sodium-ion batteries cheaper than lithium today by about 30 to 40%, primarily because of material cost advantages. CATL expects sodium-ion batteries to take 50% of the market from LFP batteries, which they also make. Many of the strategies and concepts used to improve lithium performance can be applied to sodium-ion and quickly improve its performance. On top of that, sodium-ion chemistry easily provides low volatility, high cycle life, and wide temperature range. Some of the tricks to improve energy density for lithium can now be applied to improving sodium. The last-generation sodium-ion chemistry was already gaining attention for energy storage, and was tantalizingly close to requirements for EVs. In reality, sodium-ion technology was developing all along, but did not quite reach the level capable of turning attention toward it until now.

Why CATL Chose Sodium Ion

Some of the reasons CATL chose sodium-ion chemistry are material resource availability, cost, and supply stability. Now that battery production has reached high volume, steady sources of abundant, low-cost materials become more important. Sodium-ion materials are widespread and less prone to price volatility and supply interruption than materials like graphite, nickel, lithium, and cobalt. Lithium carbonate prices have proved volatile. Lithium’s recent price uptick propels sodium-ion tech forward. Sodium-ion resources like sodium carbonate and hard carbon are abundant and widespread, making supplies steady and reliable.

Lithium price volatility. Image by Wikideas1, via Wikimedia Commons ( CC0 license).

What changed in second-generation SIBs? There are a few clues. One is CATL’s announcement of self-forming anodes. This is not a hard carbon anode, a powder layered onto metal electrodes as much as 110 microns thick. Self-forming anodes are a thin layer of sodium directly deposited on the conductor. CATL says Naxtra has 60% higher volumetric density than its first-gen SIB (an increase in anode density). Earlier sodium-ion research indicates efforts could achieve volumetric density of 400 Wh/l. Unigrid sodium-ion batteries have achieved 178 Wh/kg and 417 Wh/l in full pouch cells, proving sodium-ion capabilities. Naxtra, with 175 Wh/kg, already surpasses the 166 Wh/kg first used in LFP Teslas. It may already have 356 Wh/l to match the volumetric energy density of LFP.

Another clue to CATL developments is patents. One patent describes the use of antimony to reduce the effect of moisture. It uses the word “reinforced” to describe how antimony works in the cathode matrix. This allows cheaper water-based production. Some of these effects also include making the discharge curve flatter, extending from 4V to about 3V, rather than down to 2V. This would make it easier to use in EVs if implemented. Unigrid sodium-ion technology employs their own proprietary methods that flatten the discharge curve.

Unigrid Narrow Cell Voltage Range. Image courtesy of Unigrid.

A late addition to this story is that the world’s first production solid-state battery (SSB) has arrived. In Donutlabs’ announcement, they make pains to point out that it is not a lithium battery and it is made from easily and ubiquitously source materials. That makes it likely it is sodium-ion. It does fit neatly into researcher expectations for sodium-ion solid state. Some social media does not understand that solid state is not a competitor to battery chemistry. These types of modern batteries all use intercalation and are differentiated by their cathode, which is a metal oxide. The cathode designates their chemistry name. So, for example, NMC is nickel manganese cobalt (oxide), LCO is lithium cobalt oxide, and LFP is lithium iron sulfate. Solid-state refers to the electrolyte. If they were solid-state, they would be NMC-SSB, for example.

Batteries are composed of a cathode, anode, and electrolyte. Up until now, all batteries used liquid electrolytes. The anode and cathode are solid. At present, sodium-ion batteries are not named by their cathodes. There are three main types of cathode — polyanion, layered oxide, and Prussian blue analogs. Really, batteries could be named by cathode, anode, and electrolyte.

Conclusion

CATL’s Naxtra already shows sodium-ion batteries advancing sooner than expected.

With added advantages of cost, greener manufacturing, safety, cycle life, temperature range, and supply stability, CATL is comfortable with entering volume sodium-ion production for use in EVs and widespread application. Overall, a combination of performance advancements put sodium-ion in contention with LFP performance at a level capable of providing cells for EVs, as CATL announced. CATL expects sodium-ion to provide over 300 miles of EV range even at cold temperatures. As volumes increase, lower material costs will widen the sodium-ion cost advantage.

Given CATL’s first-generation gravimetric energy density improved by 9%, and self-formed anodes used in the second generation increase anode volumetric density by 60%, it is conceivable that volumetric energy density has improved from 290 Wh/l to 350 Wh/l, matching or exceeding characteristics previously used for high-volume EV Blade battery packs. There is no reason to believe Naxtra does not have volumetric energy density less than some LFP Blade batteries when it exceeds LFP Wh/kg. When battery costs fall, new applications advance, like oceanic electric ships and increased energy storage with renewables, further increasing production volume. CATL’s statements regarding electric shipping indicate it expects to use volume production to lower costs to levels that support that endeavor in the next three years. By then, performance may improve further, and the virtuous cycle will continue.

cleantechnica.com

[Eric] R&D World’s first high-power aluminum-ion battery system for energy storage ...

Eric — 12/7/2025 2:57:40 PM

R&D

World’s first high-power aluminum-ion battery system for energy storage

For the first time, a complete aluminum-graphite-dual-ion battery system has been built and tested, showing that lithium-free, high-power batteries can deliver stability, fast response, and recyclability for next-generation grid applications.

By
Marija Maisch

Dec 05, 2025

R&D
Technologies

Aluminum-graphite-dual-ion battery system consisting of pouch cells, battery module, battery management system and quantum sensor. | Image: Andreas Scheunert / Fraunhofer IISB

In a milestone for lithium-free battery technology, the collaborative R&D project INNOBATT, led by the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Systems and Device Technology (IISB), has completed a battery system demonstrator based on aluminum-graphite-dual-ion batteries (AGDIB). The demonstrator confirms the stability of this new cell chemistry not only in laboratory conditions but also under realistic operational scenarios.

The rechargeable aluminum-ion battery is a cost-effective, non-flammable energy storage technology that uses easily obtainable active materials – aluminum and graphite. With natural graphite as the cathode material, AGDIB cells can achieve energy densities of 160 Wh/kg and power densities exceeding 9 kW/kg. As a high-power storage device, the aluminium ion batteries can be charged and discharged rapidly at high C-rates, enabling fast-response applications.

According to Fraunhofer IISB, the reversible chemistry allows over 10,000 cycles at 100% depth of discharge (DoD) in laboratory test cells, with nearly 100% Coulombic efficiency and energy efficiency above 85%. The corrosion-resistant multi-layer pouch cells developed for aluminium ion batteries have capacities of up to 200mAh, achieving more than 1,000 cycles for 4-layer 200mAh cells at 6C and over 7,000 cycles for single-layer 30mAh cells at 30C.

With such capabilities, aluminium-ion batteries show great potential for stationary and hybrid mobile applications, particularly as USP systems and high-performance storage devices for dynamic grid stabilization, where frequent low-energy micro-cycles demand high power rather than high energy density.

While many new lithium-free battery technologies remain at the lab scale, system-level demonstrators are rare. Within the INNOBATT project, a full battery system demonstrator has now been established after prior scaling of AGDIB technology to small-size pouch cells, Fraunhofer IISB reported in late November. Development focused on the entire value chain: sustainable lithium-free cell chemistry, integration of a wireless battery management system (BMS), bidirectional quantum-based current sensing, and recyclability.

In a realistic test case, the demonstrator integrates eight AGDIB pouch cells with a wireless BMS based on the open-source foxBMS® platform, featuring secure RF communication and a diamond-based quantum sensor for high-resolution current measurement.

Active materials and cell design were optimized to improve stability, reliability, and reproducibility. The battery module was assembled in a 4s2p configuration, with a BMS-Slave communicating wirelessly with the BMS-Master. The quantum sensor, based on NV centers in diamond, measures currents over five orders of magnitude, capturing both small and large dynamic currents with high precision.

This system successfully validates the high-power capabilities of AGDIB chemistry for grid stabilization, Fraunhofer IISB said. Results previously observed at the cell level were confirmed at the module level using real-frequency data to emulate instantaneous reserve applications. The system maintained stable performance under dynamic high-current loads at 10C, demonstrating AGDIB’s scalability through successful cell manufacturing, interconnection, and system integration. Unlike many conventional battery systems, AGDIB supports very high charge and discharge rates, making it well-suited for applications like providing virtual inertia to the grid.

Recyclability was a core consideration throughout development. Cell materials can be separated physically without toxic chemicals, enabling closed material cycles. The module design follows a design-for-recycling strategy, exceeding current EU regulatory requirements for battery recycling efficiency and showcasing a sustainable, future-ready energy storage system.

While many new Li-free battery technologies are examined on lab-size cell level, battery system demonstrators employing new cell chemistries remain rare. However, such a battery system demonstrator based on AGDIB has now been set up within the INNOBATT project after scaling the technology to small-size pouch cells in previous research projects first, Frauenhofer IISB, the INNOBATT project consortium leader, said in late November. The development of this innovative battery system focuses on the whole value chain, from a sustainable Li-free cell chemistry over integration of wireless battery management system (BMS) and bidirectional quantum-based current sensor technologies to recyclability considerations.

In a realistic test case, the INNOBATT demonstrator proves the stability of the new type battery cells. Integrating eight AGDIB pouch cells with a wireless BMS based on the open source BMS platform foxBMS® from Fraunhofer IISB with secure radio frequency based (RF) communication, the prototype also features a novel diamond-based quantum sensor for high-resolution current measurement.

AGDIB active materials and cell design were improved to increase stability and reliability of the cells and ensure reproducible performance metrics. This allowed for a proper cell matching despite the manual manufacturing technology. The battery module was assembled in 4s2p configuration, employing a BMS-Slave with a safe wireless RF communication to the BMS-Master. The quantum sensor is based on NV-centers in diamond. In comparison to conventional current sensors, the measuring range covers five orders of magnitudes. Consequently, both small and large dynamical currents can be measured with a very high resolution.

This battery system successfully validates the Al-ion based cell chemistry and its high-power capabilities for grid stabilization applications. Previously obtained results on cell level could be verified within the whole battery module by emulating instantaneous reserve applications based on real frequency data. The system proves stable performance with dynamic high current loads at 10C over long time periods and therefore demonstrates AGDIB’s ability for upscaling via successful cell manufacturing, cell interconnection and system integration. A major advantage of AGDIB is that it allows for very high discharge rates and, unlike many established battery systems, also high charging rates, as required for grid applications (e.g. providing virtual inertia).

The recyclability of the cells and modules was carefully considered during development. Cell recyclability was assessed through a physical separation process that eliminates the use of toxic chemicals, thereby facilitating the establishment of closed material cycles. The module design followed a design-for-recycling strategy, surpassing current EU regulatory requirements for battery recycling efficiencies and leading to the advancement and demonstration of this sustainable energy storage system.

ess-news.com

[Eric] Grid-scale Vattenfall plans 700 MWh battery system at former German nuclear sit...

Eric — 12/5/2025 9:13:39 AM

Grid-scale

Vattenfall plans 700 MWh battery system at former German nuclear site

The local council has approved the zoning plan for a 254 MW, 700 MWh storage project. Vattenfall expects the system to be online by 2028, pending a final investment decision.

By
Sandra Enkhardt

Dec 05, 2025

Grid-scale
Projects & Applications

Image: Vattenfall

Vattenfall is planning a 254 MW / 700 MWh battery energy storage system of capacity at the former Brunsbüttel nuclear power plant site, which is currently being dismantled. The energy company has received approval from the Brunsbüttel city council, which voted in favour of the zoning plan, Vattenfall said on Friday. The decision marks an important step for the project’s development.

The site is located in Germany’s north, close to both the Danish border, the North Sea, and close to the port of Hamburg.

Vattenfall has not yet taken the final investment decision. If the company proceeds, it intends to build the battery system and a new substation for grid connection. Under current plans, the system is scheduled to be commissioned no later than 2028.

“The Brunsbüttel site offers very good conditions for the battery project, with available land and an existing grid connection,” said Claus Wattendrup, who heads Vattenfall’s solar and battery division. Johanne Robke, project lead for the Brunsbüttel battery, highlighted the constructive cooperation with authorities and the city. All parties, she said, are focused on finding workable solutions. “The city’s resolution is an important milestone that allows the battery to become a reality.”

From pv magazine Germany.

ess-news.com

My comments:

Oh the irony!

Gotta take advantage of those very large dead ended grid connections.

What will eventually happen to all of them around the world.

Eric

[Eric] Supply chain Global ESS shipments hit 286 GWh as Tesla and Chinese heavyweights...

Eric — 12/5/2025 9:08:39 AM

Supply chain

Global ESS shipments hit 286 GWh as Tesla and Chinese heavyweights out front, InfoLink says

Global energy storage shipments jumped 84.7% in the first three quarters of 2025, with Tesla and Chinese manufacturers leading the charge.

By
Vincent Shaw

Dec 05, 2025

Markets
Supply chain

Image: Infolink

InfoLink’s latest ranking, drawn from its energy-storage supply-chain database, shows global ESS shipments reached 286.35 GWh in 1Q–3Q 2025, with volumes exceeding 100 GWh in a single quarter for the first time in Q3. Market concentration remained high: the top ten suppliers (CR10) accounted for roughly 60% of shipments, indicating the emergence of a clear leading cohort even as no single company has achieved dominance.

Across all ESS system shipments, the top five suppliers were Tesla, Sungrow, BYD, CRRC Zhuzhou Institute and Huawei. InfoLink characterizes competition among the top three as “fierce”, noting that while they maintain a clear lead in market share, their internal ranking has been reshuffled and is likely to keep shifting through 2026.

A central theme in the report is the rise of emerging markets. Leveraging large orders from these regions, leading suppliers have expanded their geographic coverage beyond core markets such as China and the US. According to InfoLink’s Emerging Market Energy Storage Demand Database, shipment growth in these newer markets has already outpaced that of traditional centres, making diversified regional exposure increasingly critical for maintaining long-term leadership.

The Asian supply chain remains pivotal. US-based players such as Tesla and Fluence have established system-integration facilities in Asia, a move InfoLink expects will narrow their cost gap with Chinese rivals.

A further structural trend is PV–storage integration. Major solar manufacturers have pushed deeper into ESS, blurring the line between module suppliers and system integrators. Canadian Solar, supported by its position in North America, has entered the global top ten ESS suppliers, while Trina Solar and JinkoSolar are posting rapid growth that could see them challenge today’s storage leaders as early as 2026.

The utility-scale segment continues to anchor global demand. Shipments reached 252.5 GWh in the first three quarters, while CR5 slipped to 47.3% quarter-on-quarter, signaling intensifying competition among top suppliers. The leading five manufacturers were Sungrow, BYD, Tesla, CRRC Zhuzhou Institute, and HyperStrong, with BYD overtaking Tesla for second place in the third quarter. Looking ahead to the full year, InfoLink identifies Sungrow, BYD, and Tesla as the primary contenders for the 2025 utility-scale crown.

In the residential market, global ESS shipments reached 26.6 GWh in 1Q–3Q 2025, with third-quarter volumes close to 10 GWh. The top five suppliers were Tesla, Huawei, BYD, Pylontech and Deye. Here, CR5 rose to 50.9%, about three points higher than in the previous quarter, with Tesla and Huawei clearly widening their lead over smaller competitors.

Looking ahead, InfoLink expects global ESS shipments to approach 400 GWh in 2025, roughly 60% growth year on year, and to climb to around 600 GWh in 2026, maintaining strong momentum. At the same time, the consultancy flags rising price signals in midstream and upstream segments, warning that the ability of system integrators to control supply-chain costs, secure constrained capacity and protect margins will be a key differentiator in the next phase of competition.

Headquartered in Taipei, InfoLink is an independent renewable energy market research and consulting firm, providing PV and energy storage data, price assessments and industry analysis.

ess-news.com

My comments:

The Chinese will dominate this segment going forward.

Unfortunately for Tesla most of it's battery cells are sourced from..

China

[Eric] Recycling Moss Landing BESS: Historic battery recycling effort begins for 100,0...

Eric — 11/14/2025 1:20:38 PM

Recycling

Moss Landing BESS: Historic battery recycling effort begins for 100,000 damaged lithium-ion batteries

Truckloads of damaged battery cells have already been arriving for rapid processing to recycle spent materials into as much as $30 million of battery grade metal feedstocks.

By
Tristan Rayner

Nov 14, 2025

Recycling

The Moss Landing power plant in 2007. CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikipedia, photo taken by David Monniaux.

The cleanup at Moss Landing is continuing, with American Battery Technology (ABTC), an integrated critical battery materials company, being contracted by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to handle, process, and recycle the damaged lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery modules from the 300 MW battery energy storage system (BESS) site.

The 300 MW Phase I energy storage facility at Moss Landing saw a catastrophic fire on January 16, resulting in rapid policy responses from authorities both in the local area and wider across the US. Even globally, stakeholders have placed further emphasis on how to minimize thermal runaway events in containerized battery systems, with companies detailing their fire testing results.

Now, approximately 100,000 battery modules are involved in the largest lithium-ion battery cleanup operation in EPA history. ABTC said in spring 2025, the company underwent an audit and review process and before receiving formal approval from the EPA for the Nevada-based battery recycling facility to receive waste material under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). It has begun receiving “large” shipments of the cells.

It also marks ABTC as one of the few approved battery recyclers in North America able to safely handle batteries that have been damaged and classified as CERCLA waste, including those involved in fire.

The cleanup started in September, with the EPA started overseeing the removal of Li-ion batteries at the Moss Landing facility, a potentially expensive process for all involved. ESS News recently spoke with insurer TMGX, with head of renewables Oliver Litterick noting that when thermal runaway and fires do happen at a site, “ the cost involved in removing … and disposing of it safely are sometimes very, very prohibitive.”

ABTC published the following chart showing the standard recycling process, without providing further details on how damaged cells are handled differently from end-of-life and other cells to be recycled, other than writing “severely damaged modules [require] immediate processing,” while estimating “the total value of recycled materials could approach $30 million if the full volume is processed.”

Image: ABTC

Ryan Melsert, CEO of ABTC, said: “This unprecedented cleanup effort highlights the critical importance of building and deploying advanced domestic critical mineral recycling infrastructure capable of addressing the growing challenges of managing damaged lithium-ion batteries in a safe and responsible manner. We are proud that we have established ABTC as one of the only recyclers in the Western US to be capable of receiving CERCLA materials, and that we have already been processing truckloads of CERCLA material from this project for the past several weeks.”

ess-news.com

[Eric] Policy With Trump absent from COP30, Newsom says California leads the charge wi...

Eric — 11/14/2025 1:18:22 PM

Policy

With Trump absent from COP30, Newsom says California leads the charge with 17 GW of battery storage

“While Donald Trump clings to fossil fuels and cedes clean energy manufacturing and jobs to China, California is building the future here at home,” Governor Newsom said addressing the UN Climate Change Conference in Brazil.

By
Marija Maisch

Nov 14, 2025

Markets
Policy

Image: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia

Addressing the UN Climate Change Conference in Brazil, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that California has installed 16,942 MW of cumulative energy storage projects, underscoring the state’s climate leadership.

The new total represents an increase of about 1,200 MW in the past six months and a 2,100% surge since Newsom took office in 2019. California has now built one-third of the 52 GW of storage capacity estimated to be needed by 2045 to reach its clean energy goals – a major step toward redefining grid reliability and accelerating the state’s transition to 100% clean energy, the governor said.

Accoding to the latest data from the California Energy Commission, 13,880 MW come from 248 large utility-scale projects. The rest is from behind-the-meter battery systems installed on more than 200,000 homes (2,213 MW) and businesses, schools and local government facilities (849 MW). Within the United States, California leads all states on installed storage capacity, followed by Texas with roughly 9 GW.

The state’s rapid battery buildout has allowed the grid to remain stable even as renewable penetration has grown. California has now gone three consecutive years without needing a Flex Alert – a voluntary call issued by CAISO asking residents and businesses to reduce electricity use during the early evening peak to prevent rolling blackouts. Batteries have played a pivotal role in avoiding those alerts by providing power as solar generation declines.

Newsom emphasized that storage investments, along with new clean generation, have strengthened the grid’s ability to meet demand during heat waves and extreme weather. Even as California added record amounts of new clean energy – now supplying nearly 67% of in-state retail electricity sales – and faced warmer-than-average temperatures in 2024, the grid held steady, underscoring its growing reliability and resilience.

Battery systems now provide enough capacity to serve about one-quarter of California’s record peak demand for several hours. Meanwhile, the California Independent System Operator, which serves roughly 80% of the state’s electricity consumers, has on average met demand with 100% clean energy for nearly six hours every day so far this year.

At COP30 on Thursday, Newsom also announced that California is joining the Global Energy Storage and Grids Pledge, a COP initiative backed by more than 100 countries and organizations. California will be the first subnational government to join the pledge, which sets global targets to deploy 1,500 GW of energy storage, double worldwide grid investments, and build 25 million kilometers of new transmission by 2030 – essential steps toward achieving the global renewable-energy tripling goal agreed to at COP28.

Newsom is the most senior US political figure attending the COP30 summit in Belém after President Trump took the unprecedented step of not sending a US delegation. Appearing on several panels earlier this week, Newsom criticized the administration’s absence as an abdication of responsibility and referred to Trump as an “invasive species” whose dismissal of the climate crisis is “an abomination.”

In his latest adress, Newsom said: “Donald Trump’s reckless energy agenda puts China first and America last – letting Beijing seize the global clean energy economy and the good-paying jobs, manufacturing, and economic prosperity that come with it. California won’t stand by and watch.”

“While Donald Trump is failing, the Golden State is leading. We’re deploying more battery storage than any state in America, building a stronger grid, cutting pollution, and making abundant clean energy even more affordable.”

ess-news.com

[Eric] Manufacturing CATL, HyperStrong sign massive 200 GWh battery supply agreement f...

Eric — 11/14/2025 1:13:23 PM

Manufacturing

CATL, HyperStrong sign massive 200 GWh battery supply agreement for energy storage

The procurement is part of a 10-year cooperation, signaling efforts to secure long-term capacity as stationary energy storage demands rise.

By
Tristan Rayner

Nov 14, 2025

Industry
Manufacturing

HyperStrong recently commissioned a 200 MW / 1,000 MWh BESS project in Gansu Province, China, supported by the company’s AI-optimized power trading platform. | Image: Hyperstrong

One of China’s leader energy storage system integrators, HyperStrong, announced this week that it has signed a 10-year long cooperation agreement with CATL, the world’s largest battery maker, that secures at least 200 GWh of energy storage batteries between 2026 and 2028.

The enormous marking one of the largest disclosed ESS supply commitments in the current market. The wider deal runs from January 2026 to the end of 2035 and includes annual “rolling” updates, where both companies revise the next three-year outlook and formalize it via a memorandum each year.

For the first three-year window, CATL will guarantee supply, in an arrangement more often seen in the EV sector. No pricing or margins were disclosed, and HyperStrong did not disclose the technology mix behind the agreement, nor whether the volumes correspond to specific product platforms. Other sources reported the most logical deal, for CATL’s lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells.

Both companies also flagged cooperation outside the cell supply, with a press release noting the pair plan to explore joint investment structures for ESS projects and create an integrated platform that covers development, investment, operations, and maintenance.

Details are light, but the associated press release also mentioned a push to coordinate procurement on AC-side components, which could help reduce some of the fragmentation in China’s rapidly evolving supply chain.

Chinese battery stocks and stocks of lithium miners across the globe rose after the announcement, as more certainty around long-term and persistent ESS demand became evident. Analysts for the Morgan Stanley investment bank wrote that the agreement “confirms strong energy storage system demand globally and a shortage of high-end products,” adding that the size and structure imply CATL would likely secure pricing or margin protection to support long-term allocation. They estimate the annualized volume covered by the deal equates to roughly half of CATL’s projected 2025 ESS sales.

This may also signal a further run of deals from other large storage integrators moving towards multi-year procurement frameworks as supply tightens for cells and containerized solutions.

ess-news.com

[Eric] Finance locked in, construction starts at big battery with largest “virtual toll...

Eric — 11/6/2025 12:07:26 PM

Finance locked in, construction starts at big battery with largest “virtual toll” deal in Australia

Proposed Elaine battery. Image: Akaysha.

Giles Parkinson

Nov 6, 2025

Battery
Storage

Construction has started on a new 1.24 gigawatt hour battery in Victoria, after Akaysha Energy said it had landed a $460 project finance facility for a project that features the biggest “virtual toll” deal for a four hour battery in Australia.

The Elaine battery will be sized at 311 MW and 1,244 MWh, and is located next to the existing Elaine wind farm in south-west Victoria.

It is the fifth battery storage project for Akaysha, which is also nearing completion of the country’s most powerful battery, the 850 MW and 1680 MWh Waratah battery in NSW, and according to Rystad Energy now has the biggest portfolio of battery projects in Australia at or beyond financial close with more than 6 GWh of storage capacity.

Akaysha is also building the 415 MW, 1660 MWh Orana battery in NSW, and is putting the finishing touches on two small battery projects in Queensland, Brendale and Ulinda Park.

Akaysha says it secured the financing deal from a group of eight banks including Australia’s CBA, and BNP Paribas, CIBC, ING, Mizuho, MUFG, SMBC, and Societe Generale.

The three-year finance package also includes $A75 million of letters of credit to support Akaysha Energy’s security obligations.

The financing is underpinned by a 15-year virtual tolling agreement with Snowy Hydro, the first move into battery storage for the federal owned energy utility that has focused primarily on its controversial Snowy Hydro and Kurri Kurri gas projects.

Akaysha says the Elaine battery will provide system security for the Victoria grid, and support the integration of more wind and solar in a state that is aiming to reach 95 per cent renewables by 2035.

Andrew Wegman, Akaysha’s chief financial and investment officer said the financing demonstrates the ability of the company to deliver complex projects at scale, and the importance of institutional capital

“We’re proud to be at the forefront of developing the next generation of energy infrastructure,” he said in a statement.

Akaysha Energy has also secured underwriting agreements via the federal government’s Capacity Investment Scheme for its 275 MW, 1,100 MWh Deer Park battery project in Victoria, and a 195 MW, 780 MWh expansion of the Ulinda Park battery.

The Elaine battery will use Tesla battery technology and will be built by Consolidated Power Projects. Akaysha CEO Nick Carter was last week named by Time Magazine in its global Climate100 list, along with the Pope and King Charles.

See also Renew Economy’s Big Battery Storage Map of Australia for more information

reneweconomy.com.au

[Eric] Illinois to add 3 GW of batteries, saving consumers $12 billion over 20 years I...

Eric — 11/5/2025 1:00:01 PM

Illinois to add 3 GW of batteries, saving consumers $12 billion over 20 years

Illinois is set to issue procurements for 3 GW of battery storage, under a bill expected to be signed by Governor JB Pritzker. Transmission improvements to speed renewable deployment are also in the works.

November 5, 2025 William Driscoll

EDF Energy Storage project in Illinois

Image: EDF

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Illinois would target 3 GW of battery storage by 2030 under a bill passed by the state legislature. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has issued a statement in support of the bill and is expected to sign it.

The Power Bureau, a consulting firm, projected net customer savings from the added batteries at $12 billion over 20 years, based on data from a cost-benefit analysis by the Illinois Power Agency.

The net customer savings would result because the added batteries would reduce capacity costs by $13 billion over 20 years for Illinois customers in the PJM and MISO grid regions, while “incentive costs paid by consumers” would be $1 billion over 20 years, The Power Bureau said, for a 13-1 return on investment.

Under the bill, titled “ Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act,” the Illinois Power Agency must conduct procurements in 2027 and 2028 that result in electric utilities contracting for 3 GW of energy storage projects, with the aim that projects will reach commercial operation by year-end 2030.

The bill directs the IPA to conduct additional energy storage procurements from 2028 to 2030 if the state’s integrated resource planning process authorizes energy storage procurement amounts above the 3 GW initially procured.

Expanded transmission

The bill also requires a state commission to update the state’s renewable energy access plan to consider advanced transmission technologies and other ways to expand transmission, to enable more renewables on the grid.

The updated plan must identify all elements of the existing transmission system that have experienced capacity constraints or congestion in the prior two years and “explain whether any advanced transmission technology could reduce or resolve” such constraints.

The revised plan must include a recommended list of transmission projects and advanced transmission technology projects “that achieve” the state’s clean energy public policy objectives, the bill says.

Virtual power plant

The bill provides that certain owners of distributed storage may apply for a rebate of $250 per kWh of storage capacity, on condition that they participate for five years in a virtual power plant program with scheduled energy dispatch to be established by a state commission. Compensation to participants will be at least $10 per kW of average dispatch during the scheduled dispatch hours, paid each year.

Broad support

A broad coalition campaigned for passage of the bill, including the Solar Energy Industries Association, the Clean Grid Alliance, Advanced Energy United, and the Coalition for Community Solar Access.

The bill, which runs to 1,021 pages, includes many other clean energy provisions

pv-magazine-usa.com

[Eric] Markets Global battery industry grows 83% in last five years, boosting deployme...

Eric — 10/29/2025 9:26:21 AM

Markets

Global battery industry grows 83% in last five years, boosting deployment to over 300 GW

According to a new report from Intertek CEA, over 70% of the global energy storage market share is held by just five players.

By
Phoebe Skok

Oct 28, 2025

Markets
Supply chain

Image: Intertek CEA

Over 300 GWh of battery energy storage systems were shipped globally last year, according to Intertek CEA’s Q3 2025 reports on energy storage supply, technology, policy and pricing, and the industry’s compound annual growth jumped nearly 83% since 2020.

Still, it’s mostly big fish in a somewhat small pond: over 70% of that market is held by just five battery suppliers. China-based CATL alone made up 37% of the market share last year.

Impacts of domestic policies are increasingly spreading beyond national borders. China’s new anti-involution policy, which bans low-price competition by preventing companies from “dumping” modules and selling below costs, has already resulted in lithium price spikes over the last few months. From a supply chain standpoint, these policies aim to reduce oversupply and competition between domestic lithium mines.

While those spikes have peaked, prices remain elevated and the report authors expect lithium carbonate floor prices to be higher moving forward. Even so, lithium prices in August of this year were 80% cheaper than those of August 2022.

“Shifting national policies are creating some price uncertainty, be that export controls from China, export bans from Zimbabwe and the DRC or potential expansion of domestic content requirements in the EU,” said Aaron Marks, Intertek CEA’s energy storage market intelligence consultant, in a statement shared with ESS News. “While these changes won’t be as fast or uncertain as what’s going on in the US, they still have the potential to shift commodity and battery pricing materially.”

Even so, the report notes that in the near-term, US tariffs on China, India and Southeast Asian countries will have more significant ramifications on the battery market than commodity pricing.

With nearly 83% tariffs on Chinese batteries set to go into effect in 2026, American battery buyers will likely shift toward supply chains that comply with the foreign-entities-of-concern (FEOC) regulations laid out in this summer’s budget bills. This could leave Chinese battery suppliers in a bind, as they can only cut prices so much to not only stay viable in the market, but also keep their companies afloat.

If demand for FEOC modules, on the other hand, grows faster than US or other FEOC-compliant manufacturers can meet, battery prices will rise and leave some companies no choice but to buy from Chinese or Chinese-associated makers.

The bifurcation of the supply chain between FEOC-compliant and non-compliant manufacturers is slowly but surely leading to diverging cell form factors between Chinese and Korean or American manufacturers.

According to the reports, the price difference between prismatic and pouch cells is growing; pouch cells, however, have approximately a 10% cost penalty compared to prismatic ones from similar countries of origin due to differences in energy density. But though pouch cells have a higher capex, the authors note that increased manufacturing (and thus increased economies of scale) could help even the playing field in the coming years.

“Realistically,” Marks said, “Availability and FEOC status will be much more significant drivers [of the emerging cost split] than the technical differences between pouch and prismatic cells.”

ess-news.com

[Eric] Auctions Brazil’s minister of mines and energy discusses battery auction with C...

Eric — 10/27/2025 2:04:21 PM

Auctions

Brazil’s minister of mines and energy discusses battery auction with Chinese companies

Alexandre Silveira has met with leading companies including Huawei, BYD, and CATL to drum up interest in Brazil’s first large-scale energy storage auction, slated for later this year.

By
Livia Neves

Oct 27, 2025

Auctions
Grid-scale
Markets
Projects & Applications

Image: Huawei.

Brazil’s minister of mines and energy, Alexandre Silveira, on Friday joined bilateral meetings with Chinese energy companies during an official government mission to Asia which included business in Indonesia and Malaysia.

The minister wants to attract international investment for the first battery auction to be held by the Ministry of Mines and Energy, due this year.

Battery energy storage systems can increase the reliability of the National Interconnected System and bolster the penetration of renewable energy generation, for example from solar and wind power. Batteries can even out periods of excess generation which occur during periods of low demand, as happens during holidays such as Christmas and the new year break.

“We are preparing the first battery auction in Brazil, which will be fundamental to ensure the stability and efficiency of our electrical system,” said Silveira.

Chinese companies including Huawei Digital Power, BYD, CATL, Envision, Sungrow, HyperStrong, and Hithium Energy presented large-scale battery and smart grid technology during the meetings.

Minister Silveira said this year’s battery procurement exercise will be part of Brazil’s Reserve Capacity Auction (LRCAP): a regulatory model which ensures enough electricity is generated to meet demand. This year’s LRCAP will feature a section devoted to energy storage.

The Brazilian Association of Energy Storage Solutions estimates around 18 GW of battery projects are ready to be registered for the auction and claims contracting just 2 GW of them could unlock investment of BRL 10 billion ($1.85 billion).

From pv magazine Brasil

ess-news.com

[Eric] Grid-scale Spanish large-scale energy storage call backs more than 11 GWh of pr...

Eric — 10/27/2025 9:02:22 AM

Grid-scale

Spanish large-scale energy storage call backs more than 11 GWh of projects

Battery energy storage systems (BESS) accounted for 124 of 144 projects backed by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) cash.

By
Pilar Sanchez Molina

Oct 27, 2025

Finance
Grid-scale
Industry
Markets
Policy
Projects & Applications

A Borrego Solar installation at 0 Hammond Street in Carver, Massachusetts. | Image: Greg M. Cooper/Borrego Solar

The Instituto para la Diversificación y Ahorro de la Energía (IDAE) has published a proposal for provisional resolution of a first call for grants for innovative energy storage projects co-financed from the ERDF’s 2021-2027 budget.

The total endowment of the call, which was announced in May, was €839,708,779, as there was an increase of 20% over the initial budget. In the end, almost €59,000 of the enlarged budget was not awarded. Of the grants distributed, €343.35 million will finance storage projects co-located with renewable energy generation, €187.8 million will finance pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) facilities, €177.4 million will go to standalone storage sites; and €131.1 million will back thermal storage facilities.

With project promoters committing a total €1.995 billion to the 144 sites, it is expected the fund will back 2.61 GW/11.14 GWh of storage capacity.

The biggest beneficiary projects are the 200 MW ST Palmosilla and ST Cerrillo standalone grid-forming storage sites being developed by Cordovan company Rolwin in Cádiz. Each of those will receive almost €35 million.

The planning progress of eligible sites was a key factor is obtaining backing. More than 115 BESS who took part in the call have environmental impact assessments and area action plans. More than 75 projects had the licencia de obras building permit.

By contrast, 65% of bidding projects lacked access and connection permits.

Of the 144 successful applications, 124 are BESS, 17 are thermal energy storage (TES) and/or power-to-heat proposals, and three are PHES sites.

More than half the money allocated for TES and PHES projects was not awarded because of a lack of projects and was redistributed. Greenfield PHES projects have only a 2.24-hour storage capacity and projects costs of more than €500,000 per megawatt-hour of capacity.

The cash call will back 1.41 GW/5.35 GWh of renewables-plus-storage capacity and 910 MW/3.73 GWh of standalone facilities. More than 90% of the standalone storage projects will have grid-forming technology.

The Andalusia community was the biggest recipient of the call, with €374 million allocated, followed by Galicia (with €104.3 million); Castilla-La Mancha (€96.6 million); Extremadura (€73.1 million); Valencia (€46.4 million); Castilla y León (€38.7 million); the Canary Islands (€27.1 million); Catalonia (€23.5 million); the Region of Murcia (€12.2 million); the Principality of Asturias (€11.6 million); and Aragon (€2.2 million). The remaining €30 million was divided up among other regions.

Eligible projects must have a minimum 1 MW capacity and the cash can finance the storage systems and equipment, auxiliary systems, civil works, and other associated expenses.

Developers can request all of the funding up front from IDAE provided they meet certain conditions.

From pv magazine España

ess-news.com

[Eric] Distributed Australia adds 2 GWh of home battery storage in less than four mont...

Eric — 10/27/2025 8:59:34 AM

Distributed

Australia adds 2 GWh of home battery storage in less than four months

In less than four months since 1 July 2025, the Australian government’s Cheaper Home Batteries program has directly increased home battery capacity across the country by more than 50% and delivered 2 GWh of battery storage through 100,000 installations.

By
Ev Foley

Oct 27, 2025

Distributed
Projects & Applications

Image: Sonnen

In less than four months since 1 July 2025, the Australian government’s Cheaper Home Batteries (CHB) program has directly increased home battery capacity across the country by more than 50% and delivered 2 GWh of battery storage through 100,000 installations.

The $2.3 billion (USD 1.5 billion) program is designed to stimulate a home-battery installation catch up to the 4,216,229 rooftop solar installations nationwide (as of 15 October 2025), which according to the Clean Energy Regulator’s (CERs) small-scale installation postcode data, have a rated output of 27,326,449 kW and represent 26.8 GW of clean power.

Small-scale cumulative validated battery capacity installed by state and territory in kWh, representing small-scale technology certificates received in the previous 12-months to 30 September 2025.Image: Clean Energy Regulator The CHB offers an approximate 30% discount on upfront costs to install small-scale battery systems (5 kWh to 100 kWh).

CER’s data shows to 30 September 2025 the majority (14,297) of battery installations since 1 July 2025 have 15-20 kWh capacity, followed by 13,358 10-15 kWh batteries, while just 307 in the three month period were in the 50-100 kWh capacity range, based on small-scale technology certificates received to date.

Federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen said Australia is a solar nation – with the highest rate of rooftop solar anywhere in the world.

“Our program takes the next step, delivering a game changer for household bills. In just four months, 100,000 Aussie families have jumped at the opportunity to slash their energy bills for good by installing a Cheaper Home Battery,” Bowen said.

Vehicle-to-grid chargers On the back of the CHB program, the Electric Vehicle Council (EVC) advocate for a $3,000 rebate to be included in the CBH for 50,000 vehicle-to-grid (V2G) chargers in by the end of 2028, at a cost of $150 million.

EVC Chief Executive Officer Julie Delvecchio said V2G has potential to stabilise the grid.

“EVs can store up to five times more energy than a typical home battery. That a huge untapped resource sitting in driveways and with the right technology, we can use it to save money and support the grid, and make the whole system more reliable for everyone,” Delvecchio said.

“V2G enables EV owners to feed stored power back into the grid during periods of high demand, when electricity is most expensive and vulnerable to disruptions like blackouts.

From pv magazine Australi

ess-news.com

[Eric] Big Battery Storage Map of Australia reneweconomy.com.au

Eric — 10/11/2025 2:05:59 PM

[Eric] 700 MW firm energy by 2031 targeted in South Australia’s first FERM tender Cha...

Eric — 10/10/2025 4:45:13 PM

700 MW firm energy by 2031 targeted in South Australia’s first FERM tender

Chasing a 2027, 100% renewable electricity generation target, South Australia calls on firming projects capable of continous eight hour dispatch to register for the state’s first firm energy tender targeting 700 MW of capacity by November 2031.

October 10, 2025 Ev Foley

Image: Epic Energy

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South Australia’s first firm energy reliability mechanism (FERM) Tender Round 1 will take registrations from late October, targeting 400 MW of capacity by November 2028, and 700 MW in total by 2031, with projects required to dispatch at maximum capacity continuously for eight hours.

To achieve the 700 MW of capacity, three commercial operation dates (COD) have been set and also include 200 MW by November 2029, and 100 MW by November 2031.

ASL Chief Executive Officer Nevenka Codevelle said the tender is technology neutral, with battery energy storage systems (BESS) and gas generation indicative eligible technologies.

“As scheme administrator, we can only support projects that are in the long-term financial interests of South Australian electricity consumers, which means we’ll be rigorously assessing benefits to system reliability, security and impact on wholesale electricity prices as well as scheme forecast cost and potential cost exposure of bids,” Codevelle said in a statement.

“I strongly encourage potential tender participants to put their best foot forward when it comes to delivering value for South Australians.”

Projects can bid for a FERM Agreement for terms of 15 years, which provides the underwriting mechanism for a portion of a project’s annual net revenue, providing financial certainty and incentivising consistent, reliable operational performance.

South Australia is on target to achieve net 100% of electricity generation from renewables by 2027, up from 73.7% in 2022-23. The state’s power system was recognised in an International Energy Agency Integrating Solar and Wind report, showing it was one of two regions in the world to have reached Phase 5 (out of six phases) of integrating wind and solar energy into the grid.

South Australia is on target to achieve net 100% of electricity generation from renewables by 2027 Image: International Energy Agency

The formerly known Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) Services Ltd, now called ASL, is the appointed scheme administrator, which also manages renewable and storage tenders for the federal government’s Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) and the New South Wales (NSW) renewable infrastructure roadmap

pv-magazine-australia.com

[Eric] Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub helps Victoria become the first state to store a ...

Eric — 10/10/2025 4:42:20 PM

Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub helps Victoria become the first state to store a GW of energy

Victoria has passed another milestone in its energy transition, becoming the first state with a combined charging rate exceeding one GW.

October 10, 2025 SEC Victoria

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The surge in charging was driven by the initial energisation and functional testing of SEC’s giant battery project, the Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub in Plumpton.

Co-owned by SEC and Equis Australia, the Hub is gearing up to deliver 1.6 GWh of storage when it comes fully online later this year – enough to power 200,000 homes during the evening peak period.

Energising the project’s 444 battery units is a critical step in deploying a grid-scale battery energy storage system.

The process involves various tests to ensure that the battery units operate safely within their technical parameters.

It’s the first time Victoria’s growing portfolio of big battery storage facilities has achieved a combined charging rate of more than one gigawatt — making it the first state in Australia to do so.

Victoria has nine big batteries in operation and several under construction.

SEC Chief Executive Officer Chris Miller said energisation was a crucial step as the Hub gears up to enhance Victoria’s electricity network and support SEC’s position in the retail market by firming renewable electricity supply.

“We know storage is critical for Victoria’s energy transition, and this project adds significant storage capability to the grid,” Mr Miller said.

“SEC’s investment in the Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub was pivotal to the delivery of the project, enabling construction to begin and for one of the project’s three big batteries to be upscaled from two to four hours of storage.”

The Hub’s energisation and testing process will continue over the coming weeks.

The Hub will charge when renewable energy is abundant and discharge when supplies are low. By soaking up surplus rooftop solar and energy from the grid, the battery will help reduce power prices.

The Hub’s construction has created jobs and training opportunities for more than 1,200 people, including over 70 apprentices, cadets and trainees.

Links

https://www.secvictoria.com.au/

pv-magazine-australia.com

[Savant] Scientists make game-changing discovery that could transform electric vehicles: ...

Savant — 10/9/2025 10:00:58 AM

Scientists make game-changing discovery that could transform electric vehicles: 'Our study demonstrates its feasibility'

Researchers must address the Jahn-Teller distortion to fully unlock the potential of sodium-ion batteries, according to experts at the Tokyo University of Science.

As a result, they are examining the bowels of battery operations to figure out how to limit distortion-caused degradation, potentially unlocking a battery type that could be cheaper to produce. That's because sodium is more common than lithium in Earth's crust, according to a news release on the research.

In short, Jahn-Teller is the reason why sodium-manganese-oxide cathodes degrade as sodium ions move in and out of them during cycling. The experts added, or doped, the electrode with scandium to prevent unwanted distortions and side reactions inside the pack while preserving settings wherein Jahn-Teller is "cooperative."

The latest findings offer more evidence that scandium could be a viable solution, according to the release.

Scientists make game-changing discovery that could transform electric vehicles: 'Our study demonstrates its feasibility'

[Savant] Nature Just Inspired the Next Big Thing in Batteries What if the secret to next...

Savant — 10/1/2025 6:40:58 PM

Nature Just Inspired the Next Big Thing in Batteries

What if the secret to next-generation batteries is circulating in your blood? A Japanese company has discovered how to use hemoglobin to create a catalyst that could replace expensive platinum in future batteries. By combining this blood-inspired technology with an innovative electrolyte, they have achieved record-breaking voltage. This breakthrough has the potential to provide affordable and powerful batteries for applications ranging from electric vehicles to power grids.

Nature Just Inspired the Next Big Thing in Batteries | Watch

[Eric] Finance New wave of funding powers US battery tech and projects XL Batt...

Eric — 9/21/2025 2:24:10 PM

Finance

New wave of funding powers US battery tech and projects

XL Batteries has secured backing to commercialize flow battery systems which use an organic electrolyte, rather than vanadium, and two utility-scale developers have landed extensive credit lines.

By
Max Hall

Sep 19, 2025

Finance
Flow batteries
Grid-scale
Industry
Projects & Applications
Technologies

Flatiron's 200 MW/800 MWh Taft battery will be constructed at Uxbridge, Massachusetts. | Image: Imagery ©2025 Airbus, CNES / Airbus, Maxar Technologies, Map data ©2025/Google Maps.

The announcement of $7.5 million of funding for a Massachusetts company to scale its organic flow battery technology capped a 24-hour period this week which saw almost $900 million of European, US, and South African loans committed to US energy storage.

Marlborough-based XL Batteries on Wednesday said the $7.5 million secured from New York-based venture capital backer Merrin Investors will enable it to commercially scale its long-duration energy storage flow batteries.

With XL having recently constructed a pilot scale facility at Texan bulk liquid and gas storage business Stolthaven Terminals, and signing a strategic partnership for data center deployment with Prometheus Hyperscale, the company acknowledged the priorities of President Donald Trump’s US administration by saying its batteries reduce “reliance on foreign supply chains.”

XL Co-founder and Chief Executive Tom Sisto said, “This investment from Merrin Investors underscores that XL Batteries is built to thrive in today’s environment. Over the past several months, XL has hit several key milestones that prove our technology is effective. Now, with Merrin’s support, we are bringing the next generation of safe, cost-effective, long-duration batteries to market at a pace to meet growing demand.”

That investment came a day after Boston-based Nexamp, Inc. and Colorado-headquartered Flatiron Energy revealed new borrowing.

Flatiron has secured $540 million finance from a consortium of lenders for its planned 200 MW/800 MWh Taft battery energy storage system in Uxbridge, Massachusetts. The project, due online in “late 2026,” will support the Independent System Operator New England grid in the east of the commonwealth. The battery will be named after Lydia Chapin Taft, America’s first woman voter, who cast her groundbreaking ballot in Uxbridge in 1756.

The providers of construction and bridge loans to Flatiron, as well as letter-of-credit facilities, included North Carolina-based First Citizens Bank, German federal state-backed lender Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale, French bank Societe Generale, Spanish group Santander, and Anglo-South African business Investec.

“We are pleased to support Flatiron Energy in delivering a project that enhances grid reliability and benefits communities across eastern Massachusetts,” said Mike Lorusso, group head of energy finance at First Citizens Bank.

Other, unnamed investors provided term loans and preferred equity and tax credit transfer commitments as part of the $540 million package.

Commercial and industrial solar developer Nexamp has landed a $350 million commitment from Australian lender Macquarie Asset Management to branch out into utility-scale solar and energy storage projects.

“Given rising electricity demand and the need for reliable, low-cost, and homegrown power, we are seeing significant need for utility-scale solar and battery [energy] storage projects,” said Matthew Sweeney, managing director at Macquarie Asset Management. He added, “By enabling Nexamp to advance its 6 GW utility-scale pipeline, this transaction positions the company to capitalize on the growing market demand and deliver sustainable, clean energy solutions at scale.

ess-news.com

[Eric] Lower cost batteries, and market changes sink proposed pumped hydro project in N...

Eric — 9/17/2025 9:55:14 PM

Lower cost batteries, and market changes sink proposed pumped hydro project in NSW

Rachel Williamson

Sep 18, 2025

Pumped Hydro, Storage

Global engineering and energy infrastructure giant Atco has dumped its plans for a large pumped hydro project in New South Wales (NSW), citing intense competition from other energy storage projects and technologies.

The Canadian-based Atco has pulled the 325 megawatt (MW), eight hour Central West Pumped Hydro Project from the federal environmental approvals queue and says it tried for 18 months, without success, to make the project commercially viable.

It blamed “the evolving storage technology landscape”, changes in market conditions, and a shift towards bigger pumped hydro projects with meant it couldn’t find a way towards a commercial future.

“Pumped hydro projects are complex and carry high geotechnical and construction risk,” the company says on its website.

“The economics for eight-hour pumped hydro projects are challenging, and we have not been able to configure a longer-duration project on the site.”

Battery prices have also been collapsing around the world, and although lithium storage lasts a tenth of the lifespan of a hydro facility, planning and installation can each be measured in months, rather than years. Big batteries have been the biggest winners of the state’s long duration storage tenders.

Atco bought the project in 2021, which was to have been fed by the Fish River but located on private land 4km south of Yetholme in central-west NSW and 21km southeast of Bathurst.

Call me Ishmael

But if Atco has folded its plans forever in the face of mounting challenges, there are still 22 pumped hydro proposals around Australia that are still live, according to data from RenewMap.

Of these 10 have planning applications being assessed by states, and 12 are still thought-bubbles that haven’t yet lodged formal applications.

With Atco out, in NSW there are five projects left that are under assessment by the state.

Acen Australia’s Phoenix project near Lake Burrendong won a long term energy service agreement (LTESA) in February. That will be an 800 MW, 15 hour storage system.

It’s still at the earliest stages of state planning, but in its scoping report lodged two years ago Acen had hoped to build it between 2025 and 2029.

EnergyAustralia and EDF Renewables, and AGL, also lodged planning applications for two pumped hydro projects in 2023 and remain at the same stage of planning as Acen’s Phoenix.

AGL’s proposal is the 500 MW, eight hour Muswellbrook project and the EnergyAustralia/EDF project is the 385 MW, eight hour Lake Lyell project.

Yancoal and Alinta also have projects under assessment. Respectively the 900 MW Oven Mountain project near Armidale is nearing the end of its approvals journey, as is Yancoal’s Stratford Renewable Energy Hub which consists of a 300 MW pumped hydro unit and a 320 MW solar farm.

Thar she blows Pumped hydro is Australia’s big white whale.

It’s often proposed as the solution to the long duration storage gap required to back up wind and solar power, but to date has been almost impossible for private companies to get off the ground.

The concept is different to hydro as it uses two reservoirs to store water, which is pumped uphill for later use using cheap electricity and released later during periods of high demand.

Australia has four operating pumped hydro stations, the Kangaroo and Bendeela stations in Origin Energy’s Shoalhaven scheme in NSW, Snowy Hydro’s Tumut 3 station which is part of the bigger Snowy scheme, and CleanCo’s Wivenhoe power station in Queensland.

The vastly over-budget and overtime government-funded Snowy 2.0 is still under construction.

The Kidston project in Queensland will be the first privately-developed pumped hydro in Australia in 40 years, owner Genex Power says, although it was almost entirely funded by government agencies. It is also facing delays in construction, with the completion date now pushed out to the new year

reneweconomy.com.au

My comments:

Unfortunately pumped hydro is doomed except in rare circumstances.

Many of us in the engineering world are changing our opinions on it in today's world.

Battery storage is vastly more flexible and cheaper with a much lower environmental footprint.

Eric

[Eric] The forgotten resource of Australian energy: That is you, the consumer, and your...

Eric — 9/11/2025 10:58:07 AM

The forgotten resource of Australian energy: That is you, the consumer, and your new home battery

Rachel Williamson

Sep 11, 2025

Battery, Policy & Planning, Renewables, Solar

Key Takeaways

Demand-side participation remains 'the forgotten half' of Australia's energy markets.
Regulatory changes and political commitments have not adequately shifted focus towards consumers as real players in energy markets.
The federal home battery rebate and rule changes by the Australian Energy Market Commission are creating opportunities for demand-side participation.

Despite two decades of households installing rooftop solar, and regulatory changes that try to give energy users a fighting chance to engage, demand-side participation is still “the forgotten half” of Australia’s energy markets.

A new report commissioned by the Energy Efficiency Council reveals that despite decades of reviews, commitments by regulators and states, and tentative promises by politicians to consider consumer energy resource owners as real players, old ideas that bias towards energy suppliers still hold sway.

But that may be about to change, thanks in part to the successful new home battery rebate, rule changes that incentivise demand response, and new commitments such as the Consumer Energy Resources Roadmap, according to the report, titled Unlocking the demand side in future energy markets.

“We’re at an important moment in which government, market bodies, industry and consumers are all taking a step back and considering how to set up our energy markets to drive efficient investment in a twenty-first century energy system,” Energy Efficiency Council CEO Luke Menzel said in a statement.

“To get the best outcomes for consumers we need to level the playing field between the demand side and the supply side of our energy system, and we need to ensure emerging participants and business models are allowed to compete with incumbents.”

But getting there still requires extra work that builds on the recent NEM Review.

The report makes a series of recommendations that include how energy spot markets could be changed, to targeting subsidies that encourage consumers to participate in demand-side schemes, such as the virtual power plant requirement in the federal battery rebate.

“Unfortunately, current subsidy programs are ill-suited to a system with high levels of renewable energy, especially as they fail to account for time-of-day energy consumption,” wrote the authors of the report Gabrielle Kuiper and Dylan McConnell.

“The best use of out-of-market subsidy schemes would be to re-orient them to accelerate and embed flexibility into household and business electrification.

“Solar Victoria provides a model for how a state administered subsidy scheme has supported electrification with quality appliances, audits for compliance and enforcement measures and the provision of information for consumers.”

To achieve these, home subsidies would be better directed to hot water systems and pool pumps with in-built flexibility, heat pumps, and the still politically-toxic home insulation.

Just having dynamically-managing hot water systems could unlock savings of $6.7 billion a year by 2040 and add 22 gigawatt (GW) of flexible demand to the energy system, Kuiper says in a separate analysis for IEEFA.

For industrial sites, they could be directed in similar areas such as flexible hot water systems and industrial heat pumps, line upgrades in factories, and upgrading cooling systems at refrigeration sites.

The ideal would be a national scheme with a national registry of approved devices.

Other recommendations include a DER (distributed energy resource) technical regulator and supercharging the kind of open data protocols that allow devices to talk to third parties that Victoria and South Australia have pioneered

reneweconomy.com.au

[Eric] Sungrow unveils modular inverter, battery energy storage systems The company i...

Eric — 9/9/2025 3:29:35 PM

Sungrow unveils modular inverter, battery energy storage systems

The company introduced a 4.8 MW modular inverter, a utility-scale battery energy storage system and a commercial and industrial scale battery energy storage system at the RE+ trade show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

September 9, 2025 Ryan Kennedy

Image: Sungrow
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Sungrow announced three new products at RE+ 2025, the largest solar and energy storage trade show in North America. The company is displaying the new products at Booth V9451 in the Venetian Convention Center September 9-12.

Modular inverter

The company introduced its SG4800UD-MV-US modular inverter intended for solar installations in North America. The 4.8 MW inverter has both grid-forming and off-grid solar commissioning capabilities.

Sungrow said the inverter combines the advantages of both central and string inverters, offering 800 kW per unit with a flexible design intended to support reduced balance-of-system costs.

Sungrow’s SG4400UD modular inverter.

The company said the inverter’s split modular design allows for inverter module replacement in under an hour. The system has internal fault diagnosis and features self-cleaning air ducts.

Designed to operate in harsh weather conditions, the device is rated to deliver 100% power output in ambient temperatures up to 45°C (113°F) and carries a sealed NEMA 4X rating.

Utility-scale storage

Sungrow also unveiled its latest utility-scale battery energy storage solution, the PowerTitan 3.0. The battery delivers 6.9 MWh in a standard 20-foot container and supports two-to-eight hour duration designs.

Image: Sungrow

The battery contains a 661Ah stacking LFP cell, rated for a 12,500-cycle lifespan. It also houses a 430 kVA liquid-cooled SiC PCS, achieving up to 99.3% maximum efficiency and up to 93.6% round-trip efficiency based on a four-hour configuration.

The battery has grid-forming capabilities and is equipped with the company’s Stem-Cell Grid-Forming Tech 2.0, which anticipates grid disturbances before they escalate, ensuring energy storage responds proactively. The product delivers renewables and energy storage grid-forming synchronously, has GW-scale black start capabilities, and enables mode switching between grid-following and grid-forming functions.

“With these functions, the product supports rapid grid recovery, maximizes ancillary service revenue, and ensures reliability across all grid scenarios: generation, transmission, microgrids, and consumption endpoints,” said Sungrow in a press statement.

Commercial and industrial battery

Sungrow also unveiled its PowerStack 255CS energy storage system, containing 314 Ah battery cells for 257 kWh capacity in a 2-hour system.

The battery has a fully integrated power conversion system and battery management system. Its design allows for scalable parallel applications, supporting up to 25 units and projects between 257 kWh and 6.4 MWh, making it an ideal solution for a wide range of energy storage needs.

The “all-in-one” design integrates batteries and power conversion systems in a single cabinet, operating at three-phase, 480 V. The power conversion system delivers up to 98.6% maximum efficiency, while the system’s round-trip efficiency reaches 90%. It contains a liquid-cooled thermal management system, which Sungrow said cuts auxiliary power consumption for cooling by 40%.

The PowerStack 255CS meets global safety standards, including UL9540 and NFPA855/69.

Sungrow has provided renewable energy power systems for 28 years. As of June 2025, the company has installed 870 GW of power electronic converters worldwide.

pv-magazine-usa.com

[Eric] Akaysha secures $300 million to accelerate global battery rollout Australian ...

Eric — 9/9/2025 2:57:28 PM

Akaysha secures $300 million to accelerate global battery rollout

Australian battery storage developer Akaysha Energy has closed a $300 million corporate debt facility that will support the expansion of its large-scale battery project pipeline on a global scale.

September 9, 2025 David Carroll

Image: Akaysha Energy

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Akaysha Energy, owned by United States-based investment giant BlackRock, has raised $300 million (USD 195.4 million) in debt to advance the development and construction of its battery energy storage project pipeline in Australia, Japan, the United States and Germany.

Andrew Wegman, Chief Financial and Investment Officer at Akaysha, said the support will allow the company to accelerate the delivery of the large-scale storage needed to keep energy secure and reliable in Australia and beyond.

“This is a landmark facility for Akaysha and for the Australian renewables sector,” he said. “It provides the scale and flexibility to accelerate our development pipeline and capitalise on near-term opportunities in Australian and global energy markets.”

Melbourne-based Akaysha has a portfolio of 11 battery projects in Australia, including the 850 MW / 1,680 MWh Waratah Super Battery nearing completion on the New South Wales (NSW) Central Coast.

The company recently brought online the first 350 MW / 750 MWh of the battery’s capacity with full operation expected later this year.

It is also building the 415 MW / 1,660 MWh Orana battery in central-west NSW and is commissioning the 150 MW / 300 MWh Ulinda Park and 205 MW / 410 MWh Brendale batteries in Queensland.

Other Queensland projects include the 400 MW / 1,600 MWh Halys and Wurdong battery energy storage systems, while in Victoria it is pushing ahead with the same-sized Glenrowan battery and the 300 MW / 1,200 MWh Elaine project. It is also proposing to build a 100 MW / 200 MWh battery near Palmerston in Tasmania.

In South Australia, the company has plans to develop the 200 MW / 800 MWh Mobilong battery energy storage system, and a 250 MW / 1,000 MWh battery and 200 MWp solar farm near Brinkworth in the state’s mid-north region.

Akaysha, acquired by investment giant Blackrock in 2022, also has a portfolio of battery projects in the pipeline in the US, Japan and Germany,

The new funding package, backed by a syndicate of local and international banks including BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, ING, SMBC and Westpac, consists of a three-year multi-currency revolving loan and a letter of credit facility.

Akaysha said the facility is the first borrowing base loan structure of its kind in the Australian renewables sector and provides the flexibility to increase the size of the loan over time, as the value of company’s portfolio of battery assets grows.

“This transaction reflects the growing sophistication of financing in the renewable energy sector, introducing an innovative facility that will accelerate the rollout of large-scale battery storage for Akaysha on a global scale,” Wegman said

pv-magazine-australia.com

[Eric] Minnesota ushers in first standalone energy storage project After Spearmint E...

Eric — 8/24/2025 8:52:31 AM

Minnesota ushers in first standalone energy storage project

After Spearmint Energy applied for two separate but similar 150 MW energy storage projects, one will break new ground while the other faces ongoing hurdles from local opposition.

August 22, 2025 Rachel Metea

A battery energy storage system using lithium ion batteries from LG, at the Battery Energy Storage System, owned and operated by NREL for grid integration research at the National Wind Technology Center.

U.S. Department of Energy

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Minnesota regulators approved the state’s first standalone energy storage project, a 150 MW, 600 MWh installation that will solar and wind energy from nearby projects to discharge during periods of high demand.

Named “ Snowshoe BESS,” project owner and developer Spearmint Energy estimates the lithium-ion battery project will cost about $214 million, and $8.2 million a year in operating costs. Across the project’s lifetime, Spearmint said the project will cost nearly $457 million, which includes the project’s decommissioning.

The project’s interconnection request is in the MISO definitive planning phase, with a generation interconnection agreement expected in early 2026, according to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. Spearmint anticipates the project will become operational in late 2027.

Spearmint estimates the project will generate about $18,7000 per year in property tax revenue.

The project will sit on 27.2 acres of rural land, mostly cultivated herbaceous vegetation, in Olmsted County. The commerce department’s environmental assessment of the project said the loss of farmland to the project is negligible.

The project was modified from its original plans to require Spearmint, at its own expense, to 1) work with local governments and emergency responders on a detailed water main extension report; 2) develop a plan to acquire specialized emergency equipment; and 3) provide related training for first responders.

Unlike solar projects, which often use power purchase agreements (PPA) when selling the generated energy to offtakers, standalone battery energy storage projects are often better suited for the merchant market and other contracting structures due to their complex and dispatchable nature. As such, Spearmint said it anticipates entering into a tolling agreement with its affiliated merchant energy business or similar third-party market participant. Under a toll structure, the power stored by the Snowshoe BESS project will be offered to wholesale customers, including Minnesota utilities and cooperatives that have identified a need for additional energy and capacity, as well as corporate and industrial customers that have set renewable energy goals, Spearmint said.

Snowshoe BESS could potentially operate under a different revenue structure including fully or partially contracting with a utility for capacity, energy or ancillary services, Spearmint said. “For example,” Spearmint said, “Snowshoe BESS could be sold to a utility, in which event the utility could use the Project to manage its own electrical load, and an enforceable mechanism for the sale of the power stored by the facility may not be applicable for the Project to operate or sell its stored power.”

Commissioner John Tuma said Snowshoe BESS “represents a crucial evolution in our state’s energy infrastructure.”

While Minnesota has battery storage projects paired with other projects, the Snowshoe BESS project is the first project approved to stand on its own.

Spearmint submitted an application to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission for a similar standalone battery storage project – also 150 MW – around the same time as the Snowshoe project. However, unlike the Snowshoe project, the Midwater energy storage project received significant pushback from the area’s residents.

Located in Freeborn County, the Midwater project led to more than 100 letters, petitions and community meetings held by residents who said they were concerned energy storage systems pose environmental hazards, fire risk and have low benefit for the community.

While leading a community meeting where residents expressed their concerns, resident Dan Minear presented concerns about having heavy metals near schools and freshwater sources and risks of fire, according to local newspaper Alberta Lea Tribune. Minear said many of the benefits, such as increased tax revenue and energy production, will not be significant enough to positively impact the local community.

According to Midwater’s permit application, the project would provide an estimated $19,700 in annual property taxes over a 30-year lease for a total of about $788,000. The township would receive approximately an estimated $2,400 annually over the course of the lease.

As with the Snowshoe project, the Midwater energy storage would also use lithium ion phosphate batteries due to their improved safety profile compared to batteries made from nickle manganese cobalt oxide (NMC), Spearmint said. Lithium ion batteries have a higher thermal runaway temperature, making them less prone to fire and more stable because they have a lower risk of thermal runaway.

In June, the commission ordered for a 10-person advisory task force to help it identify additional viable sites or routes near the substation, potential appropriate permit conditions for setbacks from residents, schools and commercial properties, and so forth.

As of April 2025, Miami-based Spearmint Energy had more than 20 energy storage projects totaling over 13 GWh of capacity under development across the U.S., according to Spearmint. One project is the Revolution energy storage project, which brought bold, jewel-toned flowers to energy storage systems in the Texas desert earlier this year in a collaboration with artist Sophie Moss.

Spearmint’s founder, president and CEO said he hoped the art installations “will bring attention to the importance of supporting the communities in which we live and operate.”

(Read: Art brings energy storage to life

pv-magazine-usa.com

[Eric] Markets Argentina’s oversubscribed BESS tender draws record-low bids T...

Eric — 8/24/2025 8:33:00 AM

Markets

Argentina’s oversubscribed BESS tender draws record-low bids

The Argentine Energy Secretariat has received significantly more bids than expected for its public call to install large-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area (AMBA). Although the tender aimed for 500MW, the AlmaGBA procurement drew proposals totaling 1,347MW on the back of highly competitive pricing and strong industry interest.

By
Luis Ini

Aug 22, 2025

Image: Gobierno de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires

The Argentine Energy Secretariat has received bids for its open national and international call to install large-scale battery storage systems (BESS) in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (AMBA). Although the target was 500MW, the tender attracted 27 proposals from 15 companies, totaling 1,347MW – far exceeding expectations.

Competition proved intense. Argentina’s wholesale electricity market administrator CAMMESA’s specifications had set a reference price of $15,000/MW/month, but most bids came in well below that level. The government had established an award threshold at 94% of the reference price – around $14,100/MW/month – but exceptionally competitive bids led to an expansion of the award capacity

Of the 27 proposals, seven were selected, mainly companies with a strong market presence:

Central Puerto emerged as the standout: it offered 150MW at $10,161/MW/month—nearly 40% below the reference price. Another 55MW project through its subsidiary, Central Costanera, was awarded at $11,147/MW/month.

MSU Green Energy was awarded 150MW at $11,290/MW/month

Southern Wind secured contracts at $11,461/MW/month

Genneia and Coral Energía (part of the Corven Group) also won bids.

Other companies that had offered significant volumes, such as Sullair Argentina (144 MW), were not selected.

Awarded prices ranged from $10,161 to $12,400/MW/month, with a weighted average of $11,336/MW/month.

The Edenor concession area will host 440?MW, while Edesur will receive 77?MW.

This AlmaGBA tender signifies a transformation in Argentina’s Wholesale Electricity Market (MEM). For the first time, contracts are being signed directly between generators and distributors, with CAMMESA serving as guarantor—not as offtaker.

The procurement seeks to strengthen critical AMBA nodes, improve network reliability, and encourage private sector restructuring.

Next steps The official schedule states that:

August 29: Projects will be formally awarded.
September 5: Contracts will be signed.
January 1, 2027: The awarded projects must begin operating.
December 31, 2028: Final commissioning deadline

Each contract will be valid for 15 years from the date it enters into commercial operation.

From pv magazine LatAm

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[Eric] Grid-scale Tesla Megapack batteries for 912 MWh Chilean project delivered ...

Eric — 8/21/2025 2:23:27 PM

Grid-scale

Tesla Megapack batteries for 912 MWh Chilean project delivered

The batteries have been unloaded at the port of Puerto Arica. They will be installed at a 228 MW/912 MWh project in the Arica and Parinacota region.

By
Luis Ini

Aug 21, 2025

Grid-scale
Projects & Applications

Image: Tesla

The 240 Tesla Megapack batteries bound for the $260 million Colbún Solar Cell project, in the Camarones municipality, have been delivered to the port of Puerto Arica.

The batteries, each weighing 38.1 tons, arrived on 11 Maersk and MSC ships. Specialized trucks with swan-neck ramps will deliver each battery to the site, which is due for commissioning in mid 2026.

Colbún confirmed the project will have four hours’ energy storage capacity.

Colbún Solar Cell will require a booster substation, a 220 kV transmission line, and support buildings on a 10-hectare site. The project is expected to create 200 direct and indirect jobs during the construction phase, with priority given to hiring local workers.

The developer has described the project as its first large-scale energy storage facility and one of Chile’s biggest.

A deal was signed for 200 Tesla Megapacks in December. Each unit can store more than 3.9 MWh, enough to power an average 3,600 homes for an hour. Construction of the site began in January.

The project is expected to provide enough electricity to meet demand from 55,480 homes.

From pv magazine LatAm.

ess-news.com

[Eric] Manufacturing Fluence launches 35 GWh battery factory in Vietnam Fluence is s...

Eric — 8/21/2025 2:21:58 PM

Manufacturing

Fluence launches 35 GWh battery factory in Vietnam

Fluence is significantly expanding its manufacturing footprint in Vietnam following delays in scaling its new production facilities in the US.

By
Marija Maisch

Aug 21, 2025

Industry
Manufacturing

Image: Fluence

Fluence, the joint venture between Siemens and AES Corporation, and Korean-based ACE Engineering have opened a new, automated battery energy storage production facility in Bac Giang Province, Vietnam. The site is designed to manufacture Fluence’s energy storage solutions, including Gridstack Pro and Smartstack.

The facility boasts a projected annual manufacturing capacity of 35 GWh. It marks a major expansion of Fluence’s manufacturing capabilities in response to the growing global demand.

“This facility builds on our deep strategic relationship with ACE Engineering, taking us to the next level of manufacturing excellence,” said Julian Nebreda, President and CEO at Fluence. “By combining advanced automation with rigorous quality standards, we believe we are optimally situated to meet stringent customer requirements and deliver competitively at the speed and scale the market demands.”

As of June 30, 2025, Fluence deployed 6.3 GW/16.7 GWh of energy storage systems. Its contracted backlog stands at 8.2 GW, according to its third quarter 2025 results. Its pipeline of proposed and under construction projects amounts to 35.7 GW/114.3 GWh.

Fluence had long relied on contract manufacturing in Vietnam to produce its energy storage systems, before shifting its focus to the US in a bid to offer solutions that qualify for the Inflation Reduction Act’s domestic content bonus tax credit.

In September 2024, the company started building battery energy storage modules at its facility in Utah, incorporating battery cells manufactured in Tennessee.

Previously, Fluence supplied enclosures from its Utah facility, such as the ones installed at the operational Eleven Mile Solar Center project in Arizona, which features a 300 MW solar plant colocated with a 300 MW battery storage system.

In May 2025, the company commenced production at a new manufacturing facility in Goodyear, Arizona, advancing its strategy to build a US domestic supply chain for grid-scale battery storage systems. The facility is eqipped to produce steel enclosures and battery management system (BMS) hardware for its utility-scale energy storage products.

In its Q3 2025 results, Fluence reaffirmed its fiscal year 2025 revenue guidance range of $2.6 billion to $2.8 billion, while noting it expects to land at the lower end of that range due to a slower than expected production ramp up at its recently commissioned US manufacturing facilities.

Although the delay has shifted some anticipated revenue into the next fiscal year, the company expects these facilities to reach targeted capacity by year-end, ensuring on-time customer deliveries.

“We anticipate recovering this revenue in fiscal 2026 as these facilities reach their targeted production levels. We believe the fundamentals of our business remain incredibly strong, supported by a robust backlog, of which we expect approximately $2.5 billion to convert to revenue in fiscal 2026, including contracts signed in July and August to date,” Nebreda said.

ess-news.com

[Eric] Policy Turbulent times for US energy storage US President Donald Trump ...

Eric — 8/19/2025 11:40:19 AM

Policy

Turbulent times for US energy storage

US President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) into law on July 4, dealing a blow to clean energy. The OBBBA kills many of the provisions in the US Inflation Reduction Act that were most impactful for the energy storage industry, and while no one is fully sure what comes next, many are bracing for turbulence.

By
Phoebe Skok

Aug 19, 2025

Finance
Markets
Policy
Supply chain

Image: Contego

For many green financiers, the OBBBA poses a major investment risk. The expansive legislation has repealed billions of dollars in clean energy tax incentives, imposed new domestic content rules for renewables and expanded “foreign entity of concern” (FEOC) restrictions, many of which directly impact energy storage. It’s uncharted territory.

“This is the first time in my career I’ve heard of geopolitical risk being a major risk factor for US energy investments,” said Noam Yaffe, the vice president at energy finance data firm Pexapark.

Many investors are getting spooked and reconsidering sending their cash to the United States.

“This rewrite and lack of stable policy adds volatility and uncertainty that changes the whole risk calculus,” he added.

Michael Thomas, the founder and CEO of energy market research firm Cleanview, explained that “storage is different [from solar and wind] in that its investment tax credit won’t be phased down as early.”

The bad news, he said, is that “the main sources of energy driving storage’s growth will be severely impacted.” If renewable penetration stalls, Yaffe expects there will be fewer negative pricing intervals and less volatility, which reduces BESS profitability in highly arbitrage-dependent markets such as Texas. Yaffe also said he expects to see increasing electricity prices across the board.

“It’s good for developers who have projects already operating, but it will be tricky for new developers who can’t take advantage of that source of revenue,” added Thomas.

Pair that with increasing battery costs due to tariffs and sourcing restrictions, and it’s a one-two punch.

Yaffe also said projects nearing completion are commanding premiums, while those with commercial operation dates in late 2026 and beyond are being paused.

Scale vs. speed It’s anyone’s call as to whether bigger or smaller companies are better positioned to weather the storm.

“It’s a really good opportunity for smaller developers and those with more regional focus,” said Raafe Khan, the head of energy storage at Camelot Energy Group. He explained that smaller, more agile developers can pivot more efficiently than those with a few hundred employees.

“I think the larger developers will wait and see how things unfold and reallocate resources accordingly,” he added, noting that many have weathered similar storms using creative financing structures and technology selection.

From a financial standpoint, Yaffe said that smaller, undercapitalized renewables developers could be at risk of losing capital and selling their portfolios or companies out of desperation. “Smaller shops with earlier stage projects face very difficult decisions now,” he said.

Thomas added many larger developers had the upfront capital to stockpile materials before the election, meaning they’re able to slow down the impact.

Supply chain stress The OBBBA’s changes to domestic content and FEOC regulations are set to shake up supply chains. Anne Loomis, a partner at law firm Troutman Pepper Locke, warned the new rules could “change the nature of the storage supply chain completely” as developers scramble to source eligible components.

Tom Harries, a partner at renewable energy insurance specialist NARDAC, noted that deep-pocketed developers will likely continue importing battery technologies from established vendors “and enjoy less project risk and lower insurance premiums” compared to those purchasing cheaper domestic equipment with little operational track record.

“If you’re using new tech from a brand-new supplier with limited evidence, you’ll likely get narrower defects coverage or higher deductibles,” he explained, adding that underwriters are already pushing back on projects using “untested” equipment.

“Assembly is easy. Manufacturing isn’t,” he said. “You can’t look inside a battery and see if it’s faulty. You rely on the track record of the production line. That’s a huge unknown for reshored operations.”

Tax credits From a tax credit standpoint, the future is uncertain. Loomis expressed concerns about a return to short-term extensions and legal ambiguity. Before the US Inflation Reduction Act was introduced, tax credits operated on shorter time horizons and required regular congressional renewals.

“It’s highly likely the industry will return to needing extensions from Congress,” Loomis said.

“Historically, there have been lapses in the federal investment tax credit for solar and in the federal production tax credit for wind,” added Gilbert Michaud, an assistant professor of environmental policy at Loyola University Chicago. Michaud noted that the resulting uncertainty led to heavy investment before the incentives expired and then decreased deployment. “I’d anticipate a similar cycle for energy storage.”

Beyond the OBBBA, legislative volatility is a major threat to investment in sustainability, according to Michaud.

What’s next? Even so, many believe energy storage is too critical to derail entirely.

While falling project valuations could reduce interconnection wait times – a small bright spot – the bigger story is one of flux. “This is a hard reset, but that happens whenever we see a change in administration with fundamentally different priorities,” said Khan, adding that partnerships play vital roles in turbulent times. “We should expect to see strategic plays from several companies in the coming months.”

He said that even now, energy storage is increasingly recognized as not only a renewable add-on, but as a grid reliability asset in its own right, especially with rising demand from data centers. That change doesn’t happen overnight. Battery players must stay quick on their feet and keep a close eye on policy.

Loomis’ advice for how to handle the coming months? Get moving. “Learn what’s already been done, what works and what doesn’t,” she said. “The developers who will come out ahead are the ones who adapt quickly in what they build and how they structure their deals.”

From pv magazine print Issue 07 & 08 2025

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[Eric] Australia’s biggest gas advocates are quietly swapping out peaking gas plans for...

Eric — 8/18/2025 10:26:43 AM

Australia’s biggest gas advocates are quietly swapping out peaking gas plans for big batteries

Kwinana gas fired power station. Credit: Sumitomo.

Rachel Williamson

Aug 18, 2025

Battery, Storage

Big batteries are rapidly displacing plans for gas peaking plants, as cost and commercial factors prompt a rethink on how much the owners of these sites want to spend.

Two of the country’s biggest battery projects announced in the past weeks are both to be built on sites previously earmarked for gas turbines and peaking power plants.

But the difficulty in obtaining turbines, their soaring installation and fuel costs is opening the door for big batteries, where costs are falling rapidly and where developers and owners are putting high values on their speed and flexibility – and lack of emissions.

An analysis of data sourced from RenewMap shows there are a number of sites where batteries have already been swapped in for a planned gas generator, or battery construction has superceded much older plans for gas.

“It’s certainly the case that we’re seeing connecting points being sized up for batteries across the board… [where] they’ve essentially transitioned it to a battery project,” prominent energy systems researcher Dylan McConnell told Renew Economy.

“You also have a phasing change where people were proposing simply to put in a gas peaker [and now] they’re putting in a battery but still with an option for a gas peaker down the road.

“The emergence of batteries has meant that plans to build some of this stuff have been pushed back or removed entirely.”

A US executive succinctly laid out the reasons why batteries are competing away gas generation this week: cost and speed.

“Battery storage is now one of the most competitive solutions for meeting capacity needs and is superior to gas turbine,” said Julian Nebreda, CEO of US battery company Fluence, in an earnings call this week.

“It’s not just about cost, it’s also about speed and scalability. Generally, battery projects can be permitted, sited, and deployed far more quickly than new fossil generation… We have already seen this shift in real world operations.

“In June, batteries supplied 26 per cent of Kaizen’s evening peak demand, surpassing gas for the first time. That’s a landmark moment for our industry.”

Change of tack

In Australia, rhetoric around the need for gas peaking plants has surged, but permitting and construction data shows that not only are approved projects not getting up, but they are being replaced or displaced by batteries.

The most famous is AGL’s 500 megawatt (MW), 2,000 megawatt-hour (MWh) Tomago battery energy storage system (BESS) in New South Wales (NSW).

AGL had plans approved at both state and federal levels for the 250 megawatt (MW) Newcastle power station on the same site. But it dumped the project in July 2022 only a year after securing all permits, according to the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) National Energy Market (NEM) generation report for that month.

It is still on the AGL website.

Instead, this July AGL committed to building the Tomago BESS, which also happens to be a gas alternative for Australia’s last remaining aluminium smelter, Tomago Aluminium.

In South Australia, Alinta Energy’s 300 MW Reeves Plains gas peaking plant, fully approved seven years ago, has been sidelined by an eponymous 250 MW, 1000 MWh BESS now under construction and to be followed by a second stage of the same size.

Northwards, on Queensland’s Western Downs, plans for two more gas generating units have hit a standstill as nearby battery and solar proposals swoop in.

Alinta and Origin Energy both own gas generation units on the east and west sides of the big Braemar substation, and both were planning additions.

Alinta has since abandoned plans for a 450 MW Braemar stage 3 addition, and vague plans for a stage 4, the former approved 16 years ago by state and federal bureaucrats.

Origin’s proposed 500 MW Darling Downs stage 2 gas unit on the western side is still listed as in development on RenewMap, but the company has had 14 years to start work since it won the final approval.

What is being pushed through the federal EPBC process right now is an Origin-owned 500 MW, 2000 MWh BESS that will sit in between the operating gas plant and the site of the paused, abandoned or simply forgotten peaking plant.

Putting even more pressure on the last remaining gas proposal are two other big batteries proposed by APA Group and Mirabou in the north and south, and to the west is the operating 110 MW Darling Downs solar farm.

In other places such as Torrens Island in South Australia and Mortlake in Victoria, batteries have been built next to working gas plants.

It’s a situation that the COO of Torren’s Island owner AGL, Markus Brokhof, freely admits is cannibalistic, as the battery eats the gas generator’s business.

And it’s tricky to see how a gas generator like the 200 MW Winton reserve near Ballan in central Victoria is to be built when it is surrounded by 370 MW of operating solar farms, 310 MW of proposed solar, and 820 MW, 1680 MWh of battery storage.

Building batteries is just faster and the Kurri Kurri gas peaker is the only recent experience building new gas generation “and that’s been a bit of a disaster”, says McConnell.

Expensive and slow

Fluence’s Nebreda was speaking about the US situation when he said it is cheaper and easier to build batteries over gas, but the same rings true for Australia – perhaps even more so given the much higher price of gas here.

Anyone looking to build gas plants is running up against similar supply chain constraints as offshore wind, with lead times for key equipment running into the years.

“Batteries are faster to permit, quicker to build, they’re modular and lower cost,” says Nexa Advisory principal Stephanie Bashir.

“In terms of supply chains, gas turbines are currently subject to lead times of four years or more.”

Drawn out order wait times are not the only issue. The Tomago, Darling Downs and Reeves Plains examples were all replacing gas plans that had already been approved. Projects that aren’t approved face greater regulatory and environmental scrutiny, says BloombergNEF senior associate Sahaj Sood.

“New gas plants are likely to be much harder to build in Australia because of long wait times for new turbine orders and greater regulatory and environmental scrutiny,” he told Renew Economy.

“Running a gas plant in Australia is also more expensive than in the US, and with the market operator forecasting a gas supply shortfall in the south-eastern states by 2028, gas prices could climb further, making batteries even more attractive as a potential alternative source of fast-responding dispatchable capacity.”

Add in tight gas markets, and new gas developments are likely to be stymied by a lack of easily accessed fuel and the market operator’s forecast of a looming fuel supply shortfall, he says.

Big batteries as cash cows

Furthermore, big batteries are reshaping the NEM in their own image, and not necessarily in a good way.

In the second quarter, big batteries set the highest battery discharge prices with an average of $478/MW, almost double the $245/MWh average in the same period last year.

That is nearly three times the average price set by gas generators, and 3.5 times that of hydro.

As Renew Economy reported, owners of gas generation are simply buying control of the batteries, or building their own, and using them in the same way to distort market pricing.

For this reason, AGL said in its annual results this week it expects big batteries to be its new cash cow as coal and gas disappear from the grid.

It’s a view shared by almost everyone because while wind and solar investment has completely disappeared, new battery installations are setting new records.

Sood says battery uptake in 2025 so far is already at a record high for a single year. His team is forecasting cumulative installed capacity could more than quadruple to 14.3 gigawatts (GW) by 2030.

Gas is the new government asset

However, as Bashir says, gas still has a role to play, and a bigger one than would be needed if transmission construction continues to be delayed.

Although overall gas generation is falling, winter peaks in the years to 2024 have surged, according to a presentation given by McConnell earlier this year.

Gas generation is actually falling over time, but winter peaks are becoming more pronounced — or at least they were before the influx of battery storage this year. Image: Dylan McConnell

But while AEMO’s Integrated System Plan does say, based on current modelling, that gas will be needed on the NEM in a decade, it also means more new gas isn’t needed today.

And that creates a tricky puzzle: if it’s not needed, who is going to pay to build it now? And are we sure it will be the right answer in a decade?

Sood and McConnell both suggest gas will be edged out of private hands and be funded by governments.

Sood notes that Queensland, NSW and South Australia are considering their own build-outs of new gas capacity, using revenue underwriting contracts to ensure supply security as coal plants retire and help balance variable renewable energy output.

McConnell points to the Nelson Review of the NEM, which in recommendation 8D suggested creating a strategic reserve of assets funded through the newly proposed long-term contracts function.

“Gas generators are the sort of asset that you might expect in a strategic reserve that can provide that one-in-10-year backup. There is public value in this but it is not well suited to be delivered by the private sector,” he says.

McConnell also wonders whether at the end of the next 10 years, gas will be the solution at all.

Maintaining gas networks to deliver fuel to generators for once-in-five or 10 year events is an expensive way to protect against week-long wind and solar droughts.

He suggests that fossil fuel-fired generators run on diesel, then later on green fuels might be a better – and perhaps even a more sustainable – option.

“There are different technologies for this role that gas will have in the future. It doesn’t have to be fossil gas and it’s probably better that it not be,” he says.

He points out that the three new, giant 30 megalitre tanks at the Viva refinery in Geelong contain about the equivalent energy to Snowy 2.0 at a cost of $75 million.

Whether big batteries rise to fill the void in the coming decade, or liquid fuels, it’s one more reason why the surge in enthusiasm for new gas generation is unlikely to turn into a raging commercial success.

And as more bean counters at gas developers fail to make the numbers add up, batteries are looking to be increasingly the way of the future

reneweconomy.com.au

[Eric] Li-sulfur battery company Lyten to acquire all remaining Northvolt assets in Swe...

Eric — 8/9/2025 11:48:47 AM

Li-sulfur battery company Lyten to acquire all remaining Northvolt assets in Sweden and Germany

08 August 2025

Lithium-sulfur battery company Lyten has entered into binding agreements to acquire Northvolt’s remaining assets in Sweden and Germany. The acquisition includes Northvolt Ett and Ett Expansion (Skellefteå, Sweden); Northvolt Labs (Västerås, Sweden); and Northvolt Drei (Heide, Germany).

Additionally, Lyten is acquiring all remaining Northvolt intellectual property (IP), and multiple members of the current Northvolt executive team plan to join Lyten. The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed by any parties.

In total, Lyten’s acquisition includes assets valued at approximately $5 billion, including 16 GWh of existing battery manufacturing capacity, more than 15 GWh of capacity under construction, the infrastructure and plans to scale to more than 100 GWh, and the largest and most advanced battery R&D center (Västerås) in Europe.

Lyten has expressed interest in additionally acquiring Northvolt Six in Québec, Canada. Lyten plans to restart operations at Northvolt Ett and Northvolt Labs upon close of the transaction, which is being fully funded with equity investment.

The transactions are subject to appropriate Swedish and German governmental and European agency approvals. Lyten expects the acquisitions to close in the fourth quarter of this year.

Lyten has previously announced the acquisition of three other Northvolt assets.

In November 2024, Lyten acquired Northvolt’s Cuberg battery manufacturing facility in California.
In early July, Lyten announced the acquisition of Northvolt Dwa, Europe’s largest Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) manufacturing facility, located in Gdansk, Poland. The acquisition is expected to close in August 2025.
In late July, Lyten acquired Northvolt’s BESS product and IP portfolio.

Lyten plans to restart operations immediately in Skellefteå (Ett) and Västerås (Labs) upon close of the transaction and collaboration with Northvolt’s prior anchor customers is progressing constructively. Lyten plans to restart Northvolt Dwa immediately upon close of the transaction to support rapidly growing demand for Lyten BESS in more than 20 countries.

At Northvolt Drei, Lyten is working with Northvolt and the German government to continue the program to establish a battery manufacturing facility near Heide in Schleswig-Holstein, with 15 GWh of initial capacity.

Lyten is also committed to pursuing the acquisition of Northvolt Six in Québec, Canada, which is constructing a 15 GWh Phase 1 battery manufacturing facility. Lyten is actively progressing discussions with Northvolt North America, the Government of Canada, the Government of Québec and other key local stakeholders.

Lyten currently manufactures lithium-sulfur batteries in Silicon Valley and is selling commercially into the rapidly growing drone and defense markets. Lyten is also preparing to launch its lithium-sulfur batteries onto the International Space Station in the coming months and has a multi-billion-dollar pipeline for BESS powered by lithium-sulfur.

Posted on 08 August 2025 in Batteries, Li-Sulfur, Manufacturing, Market Background

greencarcongress.com

[Eric] Manufacturing Tesla chooses LG Energy for US-made stationary storage batteries,...

Eric — 8/6/2025 7:33:06 PM

Manufacturing

Tesla chooses LG Energy for US-made stationary storage batteries, say Korean reports

A reported $4.3 billion deal will see LG Energy Solution (LGES) supply LFP batteries for Tesla’s energy division in the US.

By
Tristan Rayner

Jul 31, 2025

Grid-scale
Industry
Manufacturing

pv magazine/Eckhart Gouras

As major players increasingly invest in stationary energy storage to stabilize power grids and support renewable integration, a significant new deal is set to reshape the supply chain. Tesla Inc. has reportedly tapped LG Energy Solution (LGES) for a massive supply of US-made batteries, signaling a strategic push to bolster its energy division.

According to reports from The Korean Herald, the deal is valued at $4.3 billion and will see LGES supply lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries from August 2027 through July 2030. Industry observers in the report believe the batteries are specifically destined for stationary storage with Tesla’s battery energy storage systems (BESS), including products like the Megapack. LGES’s strategic focus for its US manufacturing plants have been increasingly geared toward producing LFP cells optimized for BESS applications.

The move will reduce its reliance on Chinese supplier Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) and mitigate the impact of US tariffs on Chinese supplied materials. The report notes that LGES’s joint venture with General Motors, Ultium Cells, is also actively converting its Tennessee factory from producing high-nickel batteries to LFP models, with commercial operation slated for late 2027.

Tesla has a tightly woven electric vehicle battery supply and operation and this deal now is focused on scaling the energy business significantly. That said, according to Tesla’s own Q2 2025 financial report, its Energy Generation and Storage division saw record deployments, yet segment revenue experienced a slight decline year on year, due to apparent product mix and pricing adjustments. The move to securing domestic LFP supply chain with a high-volume output provides new opportunities. Tesla recently achieved a Megapack production line earlier in 2025 in Shanghai.

The report from The Korean Herald also notes the contract includes provisions for a potential seven-year extension.

ess-news.com

[Eric] Trump tariffs are killing big battery investment in US, but it means lower price...

Eric — 7/22/2025 6:21:20 PM

Trump tariffs are killing big battery investment in US, but it means lower prices for Australian projects

Eraring battery. Photo: Origin Energy.

Giles Parkinson

Jul 22, 2025

Battery, Storage

Another big battery supplier – this time the one building the biggest battery project in Australia – has warned that President Donald Trump’s tariff threats are effectively killing battery storage investments in US, but creating more competition and lower prices in other markets such as Australia.

Finish group Wärtsilä is supplying the battery modules for the giant 700 MW, 2,800 MWh Eraring battery in NSW which, when complete, will be the biggest in the country, adding to its growing portfolio of completed projects in Australia that already includes the Torrens Island battery in South Australia.

Late last week the company – which also specialises in thermal generators and marine engine systems – says the US market is facing significant headwinds due to the uncertainty around tariffs.

“The growth continues in other markets, but the competition is increasing, and putting pressure on profitability,” the company said in a statement, noting that Australia is one of its major markets outside the US.

Later, in a conference call with analysts, the company said orders were down 79 per cent in the latest quarter because of the uncertainty.

“We have a challenge with the volumes at the moment, the US market is stagnant, all competitors move to the more active markets and that, of course, increases competition,” said CEO Hakan Agnevall.

“Order intake was down 79%. That is quite a lot. Of course, the U.S. tariffs, the U.S. market is muted, competition increases in other markets. So our order intake has really taken a fall, no doubt.”

The conference call with analysts was completed before the US slapped a new 95 per cent tariff on imports of graphite, a key ingredient in EV and grid batteries.

Wärtsilä regards itself as one of the world’s top five battery storage suppliers, along with the likes of Tesla, Fluence, Sungrow and GE Vernova.

The US-based Fluence has previously warned of a billion dollar shortfall in orders this year as a result of the Trump tariff threats, and flagged that earnings this year could drop to zero, from previous guidance of around $US85 million.

“The evolving trade and tariff landscape has created significant uncertainty in the U.S. market, which has led us to agree with our customers during the second quarter to pause certain contracts both under execution and those we expected to sign until we have better visibility,” Fluence CEO Julian Nebreda said in May.

The Trump tariffs have already been cited as the main cause for the collapse of the Oregon-based Powin, which supplied the batteries to Akaysha’s 850 MW, 1680 MWh Waratah Super Battery in NSW, and the smaller Ulinda Park battery project in Queensland.

Wärtsilä’s noted in its comments that new entrants are entering the system integration market, of which batteries are a key component, and operating margins are already being crunched.

The Finnish company is also supplying batteries to AMP Energy’s Bungama battery in South Australia and has been selected to provide batteries to the Blind Creek solar and battery project in NSW.

reneweconomy.com.au

[Eric] Projects & Applications Ukraine’s largest battery storage project enters commis...

Eric — 7/13/2025 2:38:05 PM

Projects & Applications

Ukraine’s largest battery storage project enters commissioning phase

Ukraine’s 400 MWh battery project dwarfs most Eastern European installations, and is expected to come online in October 2025, ahead of the winter.

By
Tristan Rayner

Jul 11, 2025

Grid-scale
Projects & Applications

Image: DTEK

DTEK and Fluence have begun commissioning Ukraine’s largest battery energy storage system, a 200 MW/400 MWh installation spread across six sites that represents one of the biggest storage deployments in Eastern Europe.

The project, valued at €140 million, consists of 698 Fluence Gridstack cubes distributed across locations with individual capacities ranging from 20 MW to 50 MW. The system is designed to provide 400 MWh of storage capacity, which the companies state is sufficient to power 600,000 Ukrainian homes for two hours. Bulgaria has an operational 124 MW / 496.2 MWh battery energy storage system, beating the coming Ukrainian installation on energy duration but falls short on power output.

Commercial operations are scheduled to begin in October 2025, coinciding with Ukraine’s winter heating season when grid stability becomes critical. The storage systems will provide frequency regulation, power reserves, and balancing services to support the national grid operated by Ukrenergo.

The project represents the first major energy infrastructure development delivered since the US-Ukraine Economic Partnership Agreement was signed in April, announced at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome.

War conditions have forced Fluence to implement remote commissioning procedures for the first time. “The remote commissioning approach we have introduced ensures continuity and operational efficiency amid travel restrictions and will also enable faster scaling of any future deployments,” said Julian Nebreda, Fluence’s CEO.

Nebreda added, “The project with DTEK to build a strong and decentralized energy system for enhanced energy security in Ukraine is perfectly aligned with our mission to transform the way we power our world. It is also one of the most impactful projects in our company’s history.”

To support local operations, 20 Ukrainian engineers and specialists completed training on Fluence installations in Germany and Finland. The training program prepared them to independently manage the storage systems and respond to operational issues.

“With our partner Fluence we are fast-tracking innovation, building homegrown technical expertise and showing that even in wartime, progress is achievable,” said Maxim Timchenko, DTEK’s CEO. “This battery storage facility is proof of our determination to build back stronger.”

The distributed nature of the six-site configuration aims to provide resilience against outages while reducing reliance on rolling blackouts that affect residential and commercial users

ess-news.com

[Eric] Manufacturing CATL, Sungrow and CRRC Zhuzhou lead Chinese energy storage rankin...

Eric — 7/13/2025 1:55:18 PM

Manufacturing

CATL, Sungrow and CRRC Zhuzhou lead Chinese energy storage rankings

The China Energy Storage Alliance (CNESA) has released its 2024 rankings of Chinese energy storage companies, with CATL, Sungrow, and CRRC Zhuzhou Institute securing top positions across key segments.

By
Vincent Shaw

Jul 11, 2025

Manufacturing
Supply chain

(PRNewsfoto/Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL)) | Image: CATL

China’s top energy storage companies in 2024 have been named by the China Energy Storage Alliance (CNESA), which unveiled its annual rankings recently. The rankings, based on shipment volumes and installed capacity, offer a snapshot of the evolving competitive landscape in China’s energy storage sector and its expanding global footprint.

CATL retained its dominance as the leading energy storage technology provider by global battery shipments, excluding backup power applications. Other top performers in this category included EVE, Hithium, BYD, REPT BATTERO, and CALB. CNESA defines energy storage technology providers as companies that independently produce and supply core technologies such as battery cells and physical storage systems.

Top 10 Chinese energy storage technology providers in the 2024 global market

In the backup power battery segment—used primarily for telecom base stations and data centers—Shoto led the field, followed by Narada Power, Gotion High-Tech, Cospowers, and CALB. This category includes both lithium-ion and lead-acid battery technologies.

Top 5 Chinese energy storage base station/IDC technology providers in the 2024 global market

Sungrow and Kehua Tech emerged as the top players in power conversion systems (PCS), a critical component of energy storage infrastructure. Kehua Tech led PCS shipments within China, while Sungrow ranked first globally. Other key names included Sineng, NR Electric, and Soaring.

Top 10 Chinese energy storage PCS providers ranked by number of shipments in the 2024 global market

System integration, which encompasses the delivery of full energy storage systems—including batteries, PCS, EMS, and supporting infrastructure—was another fiercely competitive category. CRRC Zhuzhou Institute topped the domestic rankings in both installed capacity and shipments of grid-connected systems. Sungrow followed closely and claimed the top position globally by shipment volume. Other notable integrators included Envision Energy, HyperStrong, XYZ Storage, SCETL, ROBESTEC, and Goldwind

Top 10 Chinese EES integrators ranked by number of shipments in the 2024 global market

In the user-side (behind-the-meter) segment of the domestic market, JD Energy led in shipment volume, reflecting rising demand for distributed energy storage solutions. The list also featured Great Power, Hoenergy, NR Electric, and Huazhi Energy.

The CNESA rankings are compiled using data from the DataLink Global Energy Storage Database, the world’s first full-chain energy storage data platform, which was developed in 2011 by CNESA

ess-news.com

[Eric] Big battery gets all-clear to connect to NSW grid, help take it “beyond coal” [...

Eric — 6/26/2025 1:19:01 PM

Big battery gets all-clear to connect to NSW grid, help take it “beyond coal”

Image Credit: Potentia Energy

Joshua S Hill

Jun 25, 2025

Battery, Storage

Potentia Energy’s 130 megawatt (MW), 260 megawatt-hour (MWh) Ridgey Creek battery has been given the green light to connect to the grid in the Central West region of New South Wales, clearing the way for construction to go ahead

Potentia, which is co-owned by Italian renewable giant Enel Green Power and Japanese oil company Inpex, announced on Tuesday that it had received its Notice to Proceed (NTP) for the Ridgey Creek BESS from NSW network company Transgrid.

Potential Energy CEO Werther Esposito says clinching the NTP marks a significant step forward for the battery project, which the company bought earlier this year from a developer named Atria Energy.

“This project will play an important role in strengthening reliability of the grid and importantly, enabling more sustainable power for homes and businesses,” Esposito said on Tuesday.

The NTP from Transgrid comes less than a fortnight after the two-hour battery won planning consent from the state government for construction 10km west of Parkes.

Potentia says it can now advance development of the $180 million BESS, subject to taking a final investment decision. Construction is anticipated to get under way later this year, with full operation some time in early 2027.

Esposito says the Ridgey Creek BESS will act as a grid forming battery, providing voltage and frequency support to the NSW power grid, especially during disturbances or outages.

“Ridgey Creek will support the system during faults and establishes a stable reference point for other technologies, paving the way for Australia’s energy future beyond retiring coal fired generation,” said Esposito.

“This project provides the storage that Australia needs and is a perfect complement to our growing portfolio of assets across the country.”

reneweconomy.com.au

[Eric] Technologies Schoenergie’s 55 MWh Hithium battery project for German research p...

Eric — 6/24/2025 6:34:35 PM

Technologies

Schoenergie’s 55 MWh Hithium battery project for German research project on grid stability

The 21 MW / 55 MWh facility is part of the SUREVIVE research project involving Schoenergie, grid operator Westnetz, the University of Stuttgart, and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE).

By
Sandra Enkhardt

Jun 24, 2025

Grid-scale
Technologies

Image: Schoenergie

German project developer Schoenergie is realizing its first utility-scale, grid-serving battery storage system. The 21 MW / 55 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) will be co-located with a 20 MW solar farm, sharing the same grid connection point at a substation. The inauguration of the facility is planned for October.

The BESS is a key part the “SUREVIVE” research project, which aims to test and demonstrate the grid-stabilizing functions of battery storage under real-world conditions within the distribution grid. The project will explore how modern storage systems can contribute to a stable power network.

“Modern battery systems must be able to do more than just store electricity,” explained Volker Schöller, CTO at Schoenergie, in comments translated from German. “They must be grid-forming, grid-supporting, and black-start capable – and that is exactly what we are realizing with this project.”

Schoenergie has designed the system’s controller in collaboration with partners, with a specific focus on fulfilling the requirements of both grid operators and asset operators. The company is using lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries from Hithium, and the company said its teams traveled to Hithium’s manufacturing facility in Xiamen, China, to conduct a factory acceptance test.

A notable design feature includes the option to install a photovoltaic system on the roof of the battery container itself. This addition is intended to improve the project’s overall energy balance while also providing power to support the cooling of the battery system.

The “SUREVIVE” research initiative is a collaborative effort involving Schoenergie, grid operator Westnetz, the University of Stuttgart, and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE). The partners will investigate the critical roles that battery storage can play in ensuring future grid stability. This will involve conducting stress tests, analyzing interactions, and testing various grid-serving functions directly at the battery’s inverter.

The findings from the project are expected to be incorporated into the design of future storage projects and are also intended to help inform evolving regulatory frameworks. The project is supported by funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs (Bundeswirtschaftsministerium).

From pv magazine Germany

ess-news.com

[Eric] Researchers report zinc-ion battery life breakthrough Australian researchers...

Eric — 6/24/2025 6:30:46 PM

Researchers report zinc-ion battery life breakthrough

Australian researchers are reporting a breakthrough with zinc-ion battery technology, developing a new method to significantly boost the structural stability of the cathode material that enables the battery to operate reliably for more than 5,000 charge-discharge cycles.

June 24, 2025 David Carroll

Theoretical prediction of cooperative Jahn-Teller effect-induced long-range biaxial strains.

Image: University of Manchester

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Researchers at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), working with scientists from The University of Manchester in the United Kingdom, have developed a new way to improve the lifespan of zinc-ion batteries that offer an alternative to lithium-ion technology for grid-scale storage.

The breakthrough centres on the cooperative Jahn-Teller effect, a phenomena that induces asymmetry in individual ions and solid-state lattices and are commonly observed in structures containing specific transition metals, such as copper and manganese.

The team said it has designed a two-dimensional (2D) manganese-oxide/graphene “superlattice” that triggers a unique lattice-wide strain mechanism. That strain helps the cathode resist breakdown during repeated cycling.

The researchers said the approach boosts the structural stability of the battery’s cathode material, enabling more than 5,000 cycles with 165?mAh?g-1 capacity retention at 5?C (1?C?=?308?mA?g-1) in aqueous zinc-ion batteries. The team said the result is about 50% longer than current zinc-ion batteries.

“Our approach offers an effective strategy to significantly enhance the lifetime of rechargeable batteries by introducing the cooperative Jahn-Teller effect that overcomes the stress of ion insertion in electrode materials,” they said.

“The result is a low-cost, aqueous zinc-ion battery that performs with greater durability, and without the safety risks linked to lithium-ion cells.”

Professor Guoxiu Wang, lead and corresponding author from UTS, said the research, published in Nature Communications, offers a practical route to scalable, water-based battery energy storage technologies.

“This work demonstrates how 2D material heterostructures can be engineered for scalable applications,” he said.

“Our approach shows that superlattice design is not just a lab-scale novelty, but a viable route to improving real-world devices such as rechargeable batteries. It highlights how 2D material innovation can be translated into practical technologies.”

Zinc-ion batteries are widely viewed as a promising alternative to lithium-ion batteries for stationary storage but until now, their limited lifespan has restricted real-world use.

Co-corresponding author Professor Rahul Nair from The University of Manchester said the team’s study shows how chemical control at the atomic level can overcome performance issues.

“Our research opens a new frontier in strain engineering for 2D materials,” he said. “By inducing the cooperative Jahn-Teller effect, we’ve shown that it’s possible to fine-tune the magnetic, mechanical, and optical properties of materials in ways that were previously not feasible.”

The researchers said they had also demonstrated that the synthesis process works at scale using water-based methods, without toxic solvents or extreme temperatures – a step forward in making zinc-ion batteries more practical for manufacturing

pv-magazine-australia.com

[Eric] Super battery sets Australian grid output record as owner snaps up staff laid of...

Eric — 6/17/2025 12:45:04 PM

Super battery sets Australian grid output record as owner snaps up staff laid off by bankrupt supplier

Waratah Super Battery. Image: Akaysha Energy.

Giles Parkinson

Jun 17, 2025

Battery, Storage

The Waratah Super Battery, the biggest unit of any technology to be connected to the Australian grid, set a grid output record for a big battery this week, as its owners snapped up staff laid off by its newly bankrupted battery supplier.

The Waratah battery, designed to act as a kind of giant “shock absorber” to the grid, will be sized at 850 MW and 1680 MWh. While the storage number will be overtaken quickly enough by the two giant batteries being built at Collie in Western Australia, its 850 MW makes it the biggest machine of any type to send power to the grid.

On Tuesday, on multiple occasions in the middle of the day, it sent up to 369 MW to the grid – the limit allowed at its newly attained “hold point 3” – part of the process of working through the lengthy commissioning process.

For good measure, the Waratah Super Battery also charged at a rate of up to 369 MW soon after as part of its testing. These numbers are higher than the rated capacity of the current biggest battery on Australia’s grid, the 350 MW, 450 MWh Victoria Big Battery, built by Neoen and now owned by HMC Capital.

Source: OpenNEM.

The Waratah Super Battery was originally scheduled to be finished by the end of March, in time for the anticipated closure of the nearby Eraring coal generator, the country’s biggest at 2.88 gigawatts in August this year.

Waratah has a 5.5 year contract to reserve the bulk of its capacity to act as a kind of giant “shock absorber”, allowing the big transmission lines feeding into the main load centres in Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong to operate at greater capacity.

But the closure of Eraring has been delayed for at least two years, after a deal struck by a NSW state government anxious not to be caught short of power or battered by high wholesale electricity prices, and the timeline for Waratah was allowed to slip – first to August and more recently to the end of the year.

Owner Akaysha Energy has cited bad weather, and heavy rains, for the delays, although the battery obtained its grid registration in good time last year and even made a surprising appearance when called up as an emergency reserve by the market operator in November.

Since then, however, there have been issues with the commissioning process – not uncommon in Australia given the complexity of rules on the main grid – and last week Powin, its US-based battery supplier, added to the complexity by filing for bankruptcy protection, having flagged a potential collapse late last month.

Akaysha says, however, that the collapse of Powin has had minimal impact on its project – the company has also supplied the batteries at the smaller Ulinda Park battery project in Queensland – as the batteries had already been installed.

Akaysha managing director Nick Carter, however, has been in Oregon, Powin’s home base, snapping up Powin staff, including software engineers Bora Akyol, Anna Zybina and Zeke Rogers, and development ops engineers Doug Ford and William Krause.

Carter said on LinkedIn that he also had the opportunity this week to speak about the Powin issues and the Waratah battery to prime minister Anthony Albanese and Australian ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd, as they came through Seattle en route to the G7 conference in Canada.

The Waratah battery will need to work its way through at least another two hold points in coming months as it seeks to complete the commissioning process. There is no word on how the delays, and the extended closure date for Eraring, will affect its contracts with EnergyCo, the details of which have not been released.

reneweconomy.com.au

[Eric] Fluence secures state backing to grow Australian operation United States-based...

Eric — 6/16/2025 1:42:32 PM

Fluence secures state backing to grow Australian operation

United States-based energy storage tech giant Fluence Energy has announced an expansion of its Australian headquarters in Melbourne after locking in a “tailored investment” provided by the Victorian government.

June 16, 2025 David Carroll

Image: Fluence Energy

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Grid-scale battery technology provider and system integrator Fluence Energy has confirmed it will expand the capability of its Australian operations as part of a broader strategy to strengthen its technical and operational base to support growth across the Asia-Pacific region.

Fluence said it has received financial and strategic support from the Victorian government with the backing allowing the company to increase its team of engineers and energy specialists based at its Melbourne office.

The move is expected to create an additional 100 jobs to help service the Australian market which is now Fluence’s second largest, eclipsed only by the US.

The company, a joint venture between Germany’s Siemens and US’ Applied Energy Services (AES) Corporation, operates in 48 markets, with 38 GW of battery energy storage projects deployed, contracted or under management.

Its track record in Australia includes three battery systems operating, a fourth launching within two months, and a fifth under construction for 2026.

Fluence Energy Australia General Manager Jason Beer said the expansion of its local operations is being driven by a strong pipeline of renewable energy projects and the need for regional technical capability.

“Large-scale battery storage systems are helping to create a more resilient grid and unlock the full potential of renewable portfolios in Australia,” he said.

“Fluence welcomes the Victorian government’s continued commitment to renewable energy solutions and Fluence’s growth in Australia.”

Danny Pearson, Victoria’s Minister for Economic Growth said Fluence’s expansion will accelerate the development of the local battery storage technology industry and boost local supply chains.

“Supporting global leaders to expand in Victoria is paving the way for our renewable energy transition while also boosting economic growth, backing local industries and creating local jobs,” he said.

Pearson said the move will also support the state’s energy targets, including 95% renewable energy by 2035. The targets also call for at least 2.6 GW of energy storage capacity by 2030 and 6.3 GW by 2035.

Victorian Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said Fluence’s decision to grow its Australian footprint strengthens the state’s reputation as a destination for renewable energy and cleantech investment.

“Fluence’s expansion in Melbourne is a strong vote of confidence in our energy transition,” she said. “We’re proud to lead the nation in renewable energy and battery storage which is key to storing our cheap renewable energy for when its needed most.”

It comes after Italian energy storage company Energy Dome recently established its APAC headquarters in Melbourne

pv-magazine-australia.com

[Savant] Scientists make promising breakthrough that could solve pressing issue with cu...

Savant — 6/10/2025 8:29:06 AM

Scientists make promising breakthrough that could solve pressing issue with current batteries: 'A new direction Scientists make promising breakthrough that could solve pressing issue with current batteries: 'A new direction

Scientists make promising breakthrough that could solve pressing issue with current batteries: 'A new direction'

[Eric] Big battery splurge sets cracking pace for 2025, as wind and solar investment ha...

Eric — 5/29/2025 12:13:35 PM

Big battery splurge sets cracking pace for 2025, as wind and solar investment has best year since 2018

A mock-up of EnergyAustralia’s Wooreen BESS in Victoria. Source: EnergyAustralia

Sophie Vorrath

May 29, 2025

Battery, Renewables, Solar, Storage, Wind

Australia has notched up a “remarkable run” on big battery investment in the first quarter of 2025, with six projects worth $2.4 billion and a combined 1,510 megawatts (MW) of capacity and more than 5 gigawatt-hours of storage duration reaching financial close in just three months.

New quarterly data from the Clean Energy Council (CEC) details a flying start to what promises to be a big year for firming, as investment dollars flow to both stand-alone battery energy storage systems (BESS) and to hybrid projects with batteries included alongside big wind and solar.

“This is the second-best quarterly result on record in terms of energy output,” the report says, and the “best annual start for new storage projects on record,” and all with the uncertainty of a federal election thrown into the mix.

“It’s great to see the high levels of investment we’ve seen over the past couple of years continue,” said CEC chief policy and impact officer, Arron Wood, on Thursday.

“Wind and solar combined with energy storage is the lowest-cost form of electricity generation and by installing more battery storage projects across the country, Australians can get the biggest benefits from renewable energy through cheaper, cleaner, more reliable power.”

The battery funding rush builds on momentum from 2024, with the CEC’s latest annual stocktake of Australia’s clean energy progress revealing a massive 500 per cent uptick in financial commitments to large-scale renewable generation from $1.5 billion in 2023 to approximately $9 billion in 2024.

The CEC says this is the highest single year of new financial commitments to large-scale generation since the boom of 2018 ($8.4 billion), but when investment in utility scale storage is included, it gives 2024 the title of largest wave of clean energy investment in Australia’s history.

CEC chief Kane Thornton says the bigger spend on renewables reflects improving economic conditions after multiple years of inflation-affected costs and materials, but it also reflects the improving policy landscape.

On this front, Thornton gives a nod to federal Labor’s expanded Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS), which announced 19 winners of its first round of tenders in late 2024.

“It is too early to say the scheme is fully delivering, but the early signs are very positive,” Thornton says in a message at the top of the report. “Investment needs certainty, and we are seeing more of that.”

And while the 2 GW total of new large-scale renewable energy generation capacity added to the grid in 2024 is well below the 6 GW/year rate required to replace Australia’s coal by 2030, Thornton says the increase in projects reaching financial close “is cause for optimism that this level of development is achievable.”

As things stand, the CEC Clean Energy Australia report for 2024 counts a total of 59 large-scale generation projects, with a combined capacity of roughly 9.9 gigawatts (GW), under construction at the end of 2024 – up from 56 (7.5 GW) at the same point in 2023.

Thirty-nine of those projects were large-scale solar farms (up from 38 in 2023), 18 were wind farms (up from 13 in 2023) and the remaining two were biomass projects.

Thirty-eight large-scale batteries were under construction at the end of 2024, up from 27 at the end of 2023, which was up from 19 in 2022. The combined capacity of those 38 projects will be 8.7 GW/23.3 GWh, up from 5 GW/12 GWh in 2023.

The report says five utility-scale battery storage projects were connected to the grid in 2024, with a combined capacity of 619 MW / 1,677 MWh.

In the final three months of the year, alone, a record-breaking more than 1 GWh worth of battery projects came online in a single quarter for the first time: The Rangebank BESS in Victoria (200 MW/400 MWh) and the Collie Battery, Stage 1 in Western Australia (219 MW/877 MWh).

As for the big batteries making up the big numbers for the first quarter of 2025, these include EnergyAustralia’s 350 MW, four-hour Wooreen Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in Victoria – a Capacity Investment Scheme winner that was annnouced as shovel ready in February.

Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners, in January, sealed a $722 million debt finance deal for its massive Supernode project in south-east Queensland, with the CEC report including the 270 MW / 1,356 MWh stage two part of the 800 MW / 2000 MWh project in the Q1 tally.

In South Australia, UK developer Pacific Green agreed to sell the 250 megawatt (MW), two-hour Limestone Coast North Energy Park – a recipient of the federal government’s Capacity Investment Scheme – to Intera for $A460 million (US$293 million), while Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners started construction of its 240 MW and 960 MWh Summerfield battery.

Also in SA, the CEC tally counts Amp Energy’s Bungama Battery Energy Storage System (150 MW / 300 MWh), which is a hybrid asset sharing the same grid connection to a solar farm. In New South Wales, Equis Australia’s 250 MW and 500 MWh Calala battery also started construction next to the Tamworth sub station in northern NSW.

reneweconomy.com.au

[Ron] GM’s New Battery Tech Could Be a Breakthrough for Affordable EVs General Motors...

Ron — 5/14/2025 11:47:35 AM

GM’s New Battery Tech Could Be a Breakthrough for Affordable EVs

General Motors has cracked the chemistry of lower-cost, energy-dense electric vehicle batteries. Budget-conscious gasoline holdouts may soon have no excuse.
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