Utility Scale Storage

Battery energy storage saw a major increase in contracted capacity in British auctions this year, with many utility-scale projects securing long-term deals. The business case, however, is not as strong for all storage durations.

Scientists in Sweden have proposed the use of excess wind and solar power to incinerate metals such as aluminum and iron, in order to produce heat that could be used to generate electricity or hydrogen.

BMW has launched its iX5 Hydrogen vehicle pilot fleet, with plans to start production by the end of the decade. Everfuel and Hy24, meanwhile, have launched a joint venture to accelerate hydrogen development in Scandinavia.

US researchers have developed a new lithium-air battery with solid electrolyte and the potential to reach a record energy density that is nearly four times that of lithium-ion batteries. The test cell demonstrated stability over 1,000 charge and discharge cycles.

Karnataka Ltd. has started accepting bids to develop up to 1 GW of pumped hydro storage, while Assam Power Distribution has revealed plans to procure 200 MW of PV capacity.

US engineers have built a scalable thermal energy storage prototype system that combines the best latent and sensible heat transfers. The technology, which is now market-ready after three years of testing, consists of engineered cementitious materials and thermosiphons in a combination that enables fast, efficient thermal performance at low cost.

Competition is intensifying in the electrolyzer space. With the International Energy Agency (IEA) expecting 380 GW of hydrogen production capacity in 2030, four different technologies will likely become prominent as demand spikes. We take a look at the market.

Wood Mackenzie says in a newly published report that new hydrogen capacity announcements fell year on year in 2022, while researchers claim that green hydrogen heating systems will probably not replace gas boilers in European homes.

Zigor has developed a modular central inverter that can convert AC power to DC power for battery charging. It has an output of 3.3 MVA and a DC voltage of up to 1,500 V.

Pumped hydro energy storage can be readily scaled to any required storage capacity at a known and affordable cost.