For the seventh year in the row, China-based Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. (CATL) looks set to claim the title of the world’s biggest battery maker. There are a number of reasons why it continues to maintain its lead in the electric vehicle (EV) and battery energy storage system (BESS) markets..

Swedish battery maker Northvolt has developed its first sodium-ion battery in partnership with Uppsala University spinoff Altris. The cell has been validated for an energy density of more than 160 Wh/kg and is designed primarily for energy storage applications.

Fike Corp., a US industrial-hazard protection specialist, has launched Fike Blue, a tested, patented solution that suppresses battery fires and stops cascading thermal runaway.

South Africa’s public utility, Eskom, has switched on a 20 MW/100 MWh Hex battery energy storage system (BESS) in Worcester, Western Cape province, to mitigate the challenge of load shedding.

Researchers at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) have developed a quasi-solid-state magnesium-ion battery with a voltage plateau at 2.4 V and an energy density of 264 Wh/kg. It surpasses the performance of current magnesium-ion batteries and almost matches the performance of lithium-ion batteries.

Plans to connect around 10 GW of battery energy storage projects in England and Wales are now in the fast lane. This comes on top of 10 GW of capacity unlocked at distribution level, including shovel-ready solar farms, onshore wind, and battery storage projects.

Transformer shortages are taking their toll on battery energy storage system (BESS) integrators, as competition in the market intensifies.

Europe’s solar installation levels are exceeding expectations and are on track to grow 30% this year from 2022, according to Rystad Energy.

RMIT University in Australia has developed new software that integrates product, regulation, technical, economic, and construction data. It helps architects and engineers to estimate the cost of building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) during the conceptual design phase.

European warehouses are reporting very high inventory levels for residential energy storage systems, with aggressive prices expected, as distributors need to start clearing their stocks, according to S&P Global.