Distributed Storage

Daikin has started building its first heat pump factory in Lodz, Poland. The Japanese heating manufacturer will invest €300 million ($327.2 million) in the new facility, which is expected to start operations in July 2024.

IndiGrid has commissioned a pilot project featuring a solar panel bank coupled with a battery energy storage system (BESS), at its Dhule substation in the Indian state of Maharashtra.

Netherlands-based One Solution says its new FlexTherm Eco battery can be used in combination with rooftop PV systems and residential photovoltaic-thermal installations. It consists of a thermal charging station that converts power directly into heat and stores it for the provision of hot water.

UK-based Ideal Heating has announced plans for a new GBP 10 million ($12.5 million) heat pump R&D research center in Hull, England. Heat Transformers, meanwhile, said it has raised €15 million ($16.4 million) to accelerate heat pump deployment in the Netherlands, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

China’s GSL Energy has started selling two versions of its new battery inverter, with storage capacities of 10 kWh and 20 kWh. It says the devices have a maximum charging and discharging current of 80 A.

China sold the most heat pumps in the world in 2022, but Europe recorded the highest growth in overall sales, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). It says Italy, France, and Germany accounted for almost half of all sales in Europe, and notes that air-to-water heat pumps were the most popular technology.

Germany’s SMA has developed a modular lithium-ion solution for commercial storage applications. It comes in two versions, with capacities of 32 kWh and 56 kWh. The two variants feature SMA Sunny Tripower Storage X battery inverters, with up to 8,000 complete charge cycles.

Austria’s new incentive program will support the deployment of residential batteries with storage capacities of 4 kWh to 50 kWh.

Property developer Steenoven and an undisclosed construction contractor have started drilling a borehole for a new thermal energy storage system in the historic city of Bruges, Belgium.

While it initially had a chilling effect on the Polish residential solar market, the transition from net metering to net billing has also resulted in positive changes, such as better sizing of rooftop PV systems and a higher rate of self-consumption, says Instytut Energetyki Odnawialnej (IEO), a Polish research body.