Key takeaways from Solar Energy Expo in Poland
Solar Energy Expo 2026, Poland’s flagship PV-plus-storage trade fair, returned this month with a small show-floor footprint but a sharp focus on flexibility and market reform, as well as the storage, inverter and grid-forming technologies shaping the nation’s next phase of grid integration.
The Hydrogen Stream: EU Commission invites offtakers under Hydrogen Mechanism
The European Commission is advancing market matching for renewable and low-carbon hydrogen by inviting European offtakers to signal supply interest under the Hydrogen Mechanism, while Germany’s electrolysis rollout continues to lag official targets despite new EU-backed funding schemes.
Scientists design low-cost sodium-ion battery with cheap electrode materials
Conceived for stationary energy storage, the proposed sodium-ion battery configuration relies on an P2-type cathode material and an hard carbon anode material that reportedly ensure full-cell performance. Electrochemical testing revealed initial capacities of 200 mAh/g for the cathode and 360 mAh/g for the anode with capacity retentions of 42% and 67.4% after 100 cycles.
Chinese battery makers scale up from 314 Ah to 500 Ah-plus LFP cells
China’s leading stationary storage battery manufacturers are accelerating the rollout of 500 Ah-plus lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells, betting that larger formats can cut system complexity and lift energy density in 6 MWh-class containers, even as safety, yield, and standardization challenges intensify.
Austria’s Andritz to supply South Korean 500 MW pumped storage power plant
Austrian engineering group Andritz has signed a deal to supply the pump turbine units for a 500 MW pumped storage plant in South Korea, the country’s first new pumped storage project in over a decade.
Noon Energy demonstrates 100+ hour ultra-long-duration energy storage system
The pilot showcases a reversible solid oxide fuel cell battery and represents the first fully containerized, modular ultra-LDES system to be operated for thousands of hours, achieving more than 200 hours of energy storage capacity.
New design specifications for sodium-ion batteries
U.S. scientists used density functional theory to reveal how sodium ions are stored in nanoporous carbon anodes for sodium-ion batteries, identifying dual ionic and metallic storage mechanisms within the pores. Their findings provide practical design guidelines to improve battery voltage, safety, and commercial viability for stationary energy storage.
China completes first full-scale underwater pumped storage trial at 65 m depth
DEC’s “Dongchu No. 1” prototype completed more than 100 charge-discharge cycles at 65 meters depth in a freshwater lake.
Battery storage in Spain could become unviable beyond 32 GWh
Scientists from the University of Seville have developed real-time optimization models showing that electricity storage in Spain may be approaching its economic limit, with cumulative capacities above 32 GWh depressing prices and undermining project profitability.
GoodEnough Energy starts production at 7 GWh BESS factory in India
India-based energy storage company GoodEnough Energy sazs it has commissioned a 7 GWh battery energy storage system (BESS) factory in Noida, with plans to expand capacity to more than 25 GWh over the next three years.
