Distributed Storage

Bill Gates-backed Rondo Energy has released the “brick toaster” heat battery, which stores renewable energy and dispatches heat and electricity for steel, cement, and chemical production.

UK-based Gravitricity plans to set up a pilot demonstration project for its gravity energy storage systems in India.

The Irish government wants to introduce an unspecified renewable energy quota for the heating sector by 2024. The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) recently predicted that heat pumps could cover 20% of the country’s heating demand in 2030.

The Chinese manufacturer said its new modular product has a storage capacity of 2.5 kWh and a nominal voltage of 48 V. It can be flexibly scaled up in a four-device configuration to 10 kWh.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has started contacting about 5,000 households as part of an updated recall of solar batteries, mainly due to fire concerns.

Toshiba and Marubeni have revealed plans to build commercial projects based on thermal storage technology using rocks. They have set up a demonstrator with 100 kWh of storage capacity and a relatively high heat storage density.

Swell Energy has raised funds to support the development of virtual power plants (VPP) and the deployment of 200 MWh of additional contracted capacity.

Zucchetti’s new battery features a nominal capacity of 5.12 kWh and a nominal voltage of 400 V. It says it is suitable for C&I and residential PV systems.

Amptricity has emerged from stealth mode with plans to manufacture solid-state batteries for residential and commercial installations.

The US Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 sets aside $369 billion to decarbonize the economy and respond to climate change. pv magazine USA’s Anne Fischer and Ryan Kennedy report on the boost the landmark legislation is expected to provide to solar and battery deployment and manufacturing.