Utility Scale Storage

Scientists led by Moscow’s Skolkovo Institute of Technology have drawn upon several of their recent battery material innovations to create a potassium-ion device. The institute says its development will pave the way for ultrafast and durable, high capacity metal-ion batteries, to supply rising demand for energy storage innovations.

Britain’s renewable energy trade body has published a report examining the state of flexibility market readiness in nine European markets. The result makes for sobering reading for Germany, France and the U.K.

WEnergy was celebrating the commissioning of its solar-diesel-storage off-grid network on the island of Palawan. Four more networks could come online within two years, said the developer, as part of a planned 15 microgrids in the nation.

In this interview, pv magazine sits down with Greg Tremelling, VP of business development at Oztek Corp, to talk about his company’s semi-custom solutions and where he sees the energy storage industry going.

The French energy giant has acquired U.K. start-up Pivot Power, which has a 2 GW pipeline of storage projects in Britain.

The recycling market will experience a tenfold expansion between last year and 2030, driven by EV battery usage and portable electronics. Retrieving valuable metals and minerals is becoming a high priority and several dozen companies are already in position for the first big wave of end-of-life batteries.

As higher concentrations of renewable energy and storage capacity come online, the control systems of today cannot solve the problem of a two-way predictable grid of the future. Enter Pxise Energy Solutions (pronounced “Pice”). Using real-time data and algorithms to make intelligent decisions, the company’s software technology is breaking down barriers for grids to operate with high levels of renewable penetration. Pxise says its software can unleash the benefits that batteries are able to provide.

This has been a breakthrough year for non-battery storage, with key advances in pumped hydro, power-to-gas, and thermal storage technologies. Many industry players are moving beyond pilot projects to contracted projects, which could lead to increased scale and lower costs.

A team of scientists led by the University of Glasgow has discovered a more efficient method of splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity which it says could almost double the amount of hydrogen produced per millivolt.

The Balkan nation is planning a tender for 50 MW of utility scale solar capacity on a public-private partnership basis with help from the International Finance Corporation. The World Bank’s private finance arm is procuring a technical, environmental and social consulting firm to advise on the project.