As we closed out the first quarter of 2022, the energy storage industry continued to show stunning growth. When scrolling through the news, reading studies, and attending events, one can’t help but notice how critical battery energy storage is to a myriad of markets and industries. As innovative technologies emerge at a breakneck pace, they reveal three key trends in both market priorities and the sector’s current and future direction.

Vitaliy Daviy is the CEO of emerging markets focussed cleantech organization IB Centre Inc. and holds an optimistic view of Ukraine’s sector after the war. According to him, the country has the keys to energy independence and security.

On Feb. 10 in Belfort, President Emanuel Macron announced his vision for the French global energy industry to 2050. He reaffirmed France’s desire to massively develop renewable energies as intermittent sources on top of the baseload provided by the nuclear industry whose revitalization has already made headlines since. Macron claimed they are “the only means to meet [our immediate energy needs] in a profitable and competitive way”. By 2050, the capacity of the French solar park should be multiplied by more than 10 to exceed 100GWp, while the onshore wind capacity could double to reach 37GW. Offshore wind power should also experience a real take-off as France aims to develop and build 40GW over the same period.

As the world woke up to the news of war in Ukraine, the German Bundestag called a special session at which the finance minister, Christian Lindner, announced a package of measures in response to the crisis. A key plank, he said, would be a new focus on renewables.

This year International Women’s Day focuses on #BreakingTheBias and celebrating women’s achievements and increasing visibility in schools, universities, communities, and workplaces. One of the sectors where the participation of women needs a boost is the energy sector, says Evrydiki Fekka, Head of Lithium Batteries Product Management at Sunlight Group Energy Storage Systems. In this article, she argues that women are key to unlocking a greener future for our energy needs.

The clean power numbers published annually by the International Renewable Energy Agency provide a snapshot of the global solar market and, this year, a lot of figures were unchanged from the previous dataset, especially in the off-grid segment.

Covid-19 has left Shunfeng International’s accountants unable to publish its official 2021 numbers on time, but its estimated figures announced a net current liability of almost $155 million and a “capital deficiency” of near $140 million.

Polysilicon maker Xinte is forging ahead with a huge expansion strategy just as solar developers at the opposite end of the industry continue to bleed cash.

Lack of locally-denominated finance, and of sufficiently long-term loans, are well established hurdles to the development of photovoltaics in Africa.

A decade on from energy rationing, head of state Sheikh Hasina is poised to announce the achievement of an historic goal which has been made possible with the help of off-grid photovoltaics.

The PV-IPCEI event hosted by the European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC) took place on May 20 in a narrow wood-paneled room of Brussels’ Art Deco Residence Palace.

The final average price in Ireland’s latest procurement exercise came in at €0.09787 ($0.103)/kWh. Wind developers secured 414 MW in the auction.

Startup Morrow Batteries has raised €100 million ($105.9 million) in a funding round led by Siemens and ABB. It will use the money to build its first battery cell factory in Norway, its home market.

Australia’s new prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has promised to make the nation a “renewable energy superpower,” following the Labor Party’s federal election victory on the weekend.

MSE international and its partners have concluded the feasibility study for an organic large-scale flow battery project in Portsmouth, England. The 650 kW/6.1 MWh project might end up having have a lower levelized cost of electricity than lithium-ion or vanadium redox flow batteries.

Belgian heating specialist Wanit has developed a solar water heater that purportedly reduces the cost of domestic hot water by 85%. The PV water heater solution includes a main dual tank and a solar connector that links the tank with a rooftop PV system and residential battery.

Mibet has developed a new PV mounting structure made of stainless steel and aluminum, providing a perfect match between TPO fixing supports and trapezoidal metal rooftops. The apparatus includes a rail, two clamp kits, a support kit, the TPO roof fixing support, and a TPO cover plate.

UK-based Xlinks plans to build 10.5 GW of wind and solar in Morocco and sell the power in the United Kingdom. London-based investment firm Octopus Energy said it joined forces with the project developer, Xlinks, to help it move forward with construction.

Indian solar manufacturer Waaree Energies has secured domestic and international orders to supply 5 GW of its bifacial 540 Wp and 600 Wp solar panels.

French energy giants TotalEnergies and Engie are reportedly interesting in acquiring GreenYellow.

Kiwa Deutschland has acquired PI Berlin for an undisclosed sum, but the technical consultancy will retain its name and structure.

Researchers in Singapore have developed a new technique in which polycrystalline silicon is pulverized into powder and pelletized into ingots. The process relies on spark plasma sintering to dope the silicon with germanium and phosphorus.

Snow losses could be cut from double digits to just 2% on an annual basis by using bifacial solar modules instead of monofacial panels, according to researchers at Western University in Canada.

Evidence of the extent to which the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is investigating public allegations made against PV manufacturers has been highlighted in its due diligence processes. As a multilateral financial institution supporting renewable projects in many countries, smaller banks may mirror the EBRD’s efforts. pv magazine spoke with PI Berlin Managing Director Asier Ukar about the current state of solar supply-chain traceability systems.

South Korean researchers have developed an atomic cobalt-based catalyst technology that is suitable for catalyst development in a range of fields, including fuel cells, water electrolysis, solar cells, and petrochemicals. The European Commission, meanwhile, has announced plans to support green hydrogen.

In other news, Zhonghuan Semiconductor announced it will begin selling 210 mm n-type wafers and the local government in Zhejiang Province said it wants to deploy another 12.4 GW of new PV by 2024.

Huawei and SolarEdge have settled all of their pending lawsuits in Germany and China through a global patent license agreement.

Hungary’s Astrasun has announced plans to set up a 1.8 GW wafer factory in Romania, as well as cell and module production facilities with capacities of 1.5 GW and 1.2 GW, respectively.

A new US Department of Energy report describes the challenges of commercializing perovskite technology for the solar energy sector.

Evonik Industries says its new additive series can achieve a significantly better cut quality ratio at higher cutting speeds and smaller wire diameters on large wafers (M12), which means cheaper post-processing work for sliced ​​wafers.

In other news, Tesla expands Supercharger access for other EV brands in Europe, Hong Kong gets its first universal ultra-rapid charging station, and BMW invests in Canadian company Mangrove to back sustainable lithium metal production.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has issued a call for homeowners to check their residential energy storage systems, amid a national recall of that batteries due to concerns about overheating.

Kore, an energy startup in California, has developed a new way to produce hydrogen from biogas, and is now poised to build a commercial-scale demonstration facility in Los Angeles. It said half of the carbon in the feedstock can be converted into gas, while the other half can be converted into solid elemental carbon char.

UK-based Synchrostor has developed a new pumped thermal energy storage (PTES) system. It is purportedly fully reversible in 30 milliseconds and can achieve a round-trip efficiency of around 70%. The proposed storage technology can also provide grid inertia and ancillary services.

Trina Storage’s new 2.1 MWh DC All-New Elementa solution is a modular LFP battery cabinet with a plug-in concept to connect multiple units. The company is ramping up battery manufacturing capacity to strengthen vertical integration, given supply chain risks throughout the world.