Minigrid

Investors throughout the world made 406 investments in large-scale renewables in 2017, collectively valued at roughly €40.1 billion (US$49.5 billion), but solar is set to grow more in terms of capacity than any other clean-energy technology over the next half decade, according to a new report. Battery storage will play a crucial role in this, it found.

Despite hitting a record 1.17 GW of new grid-scale storage capacity in 2017, growth was a mere 4.6% on 2016 having surged 61% the year prior. Industry’s reliance on policy support means foundations for growth remain uneven, report finds. Average costs, however, fell by 24% last year.

The Swedish storage developer will receive the loan funds via the European Commission’s InnovFin fund, which is part of the Energy Demo Projects facility.

Expectation is rising that the World Bank’s Scaling Solar program will soon expand to include energy storage. A presentation by global law firm, Eversheds Sutherland this week in London added further weight to this.

Bamboo and BBOXX launch pioneering platform aimed at providing developmental infrastructure for off-grid energy services.

The Swedish Energy Agency has granted SEK 146 million to support Northvolt Labs’ large-scale battery manufacturing plant in Västerås, Sweden. Project already secured financial backing from ABB, Vestas and Scania.

The conversation around battery cell production may be heated, but it is largely confined to the advanced industrial economies of China, Japan, South Korea and the U.S. Although also a high-tech hub of innovation and manufacturing expertise, Europe has been on the outside looking in for some time. But that could all be about to change as two exciting storage production programs take flight.

An academic event held last week in the U.K. presenting the results of two major research projects on energy storage provided an update on the current and future directions of battery storage technology and development.

In 2017, battery storage, smart grid and energy efficiency companies saw a YoY increase in venture capital funding, garnering a combined US$1.5 billion, up from the $1.3 billion raised in 2016, finds the latest Mercom Capital report.

In the increasingly competitive commercial-and-industrial storage market, IHS Markit expects the segment to grow 10-fold over the next five years – and ranks the companies that will lead the charge.