Utility Scale Storage

Vantaa Energy plans to construct a 90 GWh thermal energy storage facility in underground caverns in Vantaa, near Helsinki. It says it will be the world’s largest seasonal energy storage site by all standards upon completion in 2028.

Australia’s energy sector is undergoing a notable shift with new data from market analyst Sunwiz showing a record surge in utility-scale battery energy storage projects above 10 MWh in 2023, while residential and commercial installations also reached new highs.

The Japanese manufacturer said its latest power semiconductor module is based on a compact insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) and is designed for large capacity industrial power converters voltage of 2,300 V.

While lithium ion battery prices are falling again, interest in sodium ion (Na-ion) energy storage has not waned. With a global ramp-up of cell manufacturing capacity under way, it remains unclear whether this promising technology can tip the scales on supply and demand.

Nikola, via the Hyla brand, produced 43 Class 8 Nikola hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles and wholesaled 40 of them in the first quarter of 2024, while Snam awarded Baker Hughes a contract to provide three hydrogen-ready gas turbine-driven compressor trains for a new gas compressor station in Italy.

Hitachi Energy will design and deliver a power quality solution that is expected to enable the transfer of around 280 MW of renewable energy capacity between Scotland and England.

A group of researchers has identified a multispecies bacterial community that could reportedly increase the efficiency of hydrogen generation via microbial metabolism. The proposed hydrogen system achieved a more than double production rate compared to common biological hydrogen production technologies.

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) of South Africa has opened the third bid window for its Battery Energy Storage IPP Procurement Programme (BESIPPPP), which is procuring a total of 1,744 MW of four-hour battery storage systems. It has also announced the final winner from the first window.

The US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has released a cost-estimation tool for new closed-loop pumped storage hydropower (PSH) plants in the United States. The tool allows operators to select from a range of system characteristics and account for factors such as local geology, labor rates and inflation.

The US Department of Energy is funding a pilot project to demonstrate the commercial viability of storing energy in heated sand, which is capable of producing 135 MW of power for five days.