Material change – 03-2024
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Hanging in the balance
Battery storage revenues in Britain are well below historic highs but an appetite for storage capacity remains. Electricity system-operator modernization, increased competition, and new opportunities could all shape the future of British battery energy storage systems (BESS’).
Mar 11, 2024
Cut to the CAES
Compressed air energy storage (CAES) sits at a crossroads. It is considered a mature form of deep storage due to its components being firmly “de-risked” but few projects are operating in the Western world. Bella Peacock examines how compressed air storage technology works and what’s in the pipeline.
Mar 11, 2024
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Second chance for storage
Electric vehicle batteries can be repurposed for stationary energy storage, giving them a “second life.” pv magazine spoke to Roman Alberti, co-founder and joint chief executive officer of German startup Voltfang, which remanufactures batteries for use in stationary storage systems and has completed projects with commercial customers including McDonalds and Aldi.
Mar 11, 2024
A battery worth its salt
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. Marija Maisch reports.
Mar 11, 2024
Entries for the pv magazine Awards 2024 are now open
The pv magazine Awards celebrate outstanding achievement across the solar and energy storage supply chain, rewarding excellence and innovation within our industry. Our first entry window is open until April 26, 2024, providing the perfect opportunity to shine a spotlight on the achievements of your business. Don’t miss out on your chance to walk […]
Mar 11, 2024
Tesla’s new power play
The first installations featuring the Tesla Powerwall 3 are currently being completed in the United States, with the company promoting a fully integrated solar-plus-storage and electric vehicle (EV) residential system, with big backup power capacity. While the first Powerwall created a new market segment, the latest iteration enters a marketplace in oversupply.
Mar 11, 2024
FAT for fitness
Large-scale, stationary battery energy storage systems (BESS’) have rapidly become crucial components of modern power grids. With the increasing adoption of BESS’, however, the risk of battery fires has increased, as Jeff Zwijack, of Clean Energy Associates (CEA), reports.
Mar 11, 2024
What’s next for battery materials?
Little more than a year ago, the rising cost of raw materials threatened the future of mass-market electric vehicle (EV) adoption, writes Max Reid, principal analyst at Wood Mackenzie. EV and battery producers couldn’t swallow the cost increases because of the industry’s razor thin or negative margins. Higher prices for consumers would crush hopes of reaching ambitious EV adoption targets set by the European Union – let alone global net zero ambition.
Mar 11, 2024
Can anything topple lithium-ion?
The need for long-duration energy storage in a net-zero world is undeniable but with conventional battery prices tumbling, can anything dislodge the mainstream grip of lithium ion? S&P Global’s Susan Taylor provides an update on non-lithium storage technologies.
Mar 11, 2024
Spain embraces distributed storage
Around 220 MWh of storage capacity was installed in Spain in 2023, in battery systems of up to 20 kWh, according to EUPD Research. The German consultancy estimates the country could add a further 600 MWh of battery storage with systems of up to 20 kWh in 2024-25. pv magazine explores the developments and trends that are shaping the Spanish market.
Mar 11, 2024
In pictures: SunRise Arabia Clean Energy Conference
The program for the day included presentations detailing plans for localized testing and quality certification, workforce training, and other subjects, as Saudi Arabia ramps up various aspects of its renewables industry. Solarabic chief executive officer Moneef Barakat (above left) and pv magazine Publisher Eckhart Gouras welcomed the crowd to the first session of SunRise […]
Mar 11, 2024
UP: Making the battery pass
The Battery Pass is a digital passport meant to promote the sustainable scaling of global battery value chains. Battery makers will need to adhere to the framework of legislation forming the Battery Pass in the European Union by 2027. Leading up to this, recently-passed legislation already requires players all along the value chain to think more carefully about the raw materials in their products.
Mar 11, 2024
Electrolyzer prices – what to expect
In addition to the cost of electricity, the price of hydrogen depends largely on the up-front investment cost of the electrolyzer. The lower the full-load hours, the greater the impact. Analyst BloombergNEF (BNEF) sees a number of different possible pathways for the market to develop.
Mar 11, 2024
Stored potential
As renewables push further into the world’s energy mix, the importance of energy storage to the energy transition becomes ever more apparent. Even the most innovative PV technology has little hope of powering the world 24/7 without a battery to help smooth the peaks and troughs of supply and demand. This March 2024 edition […]
Mar 11, 2024
Hybrid projects are driving grid-scale solar
With the worsening climate crisis, it’s easy to lose sight of the progress made over the past decade. Solar growth is eye-watering. Even in Northern Europe, peak solar generation turns early afternoon prices negative with increasing regularity as solar generation exceeds demand. On distribution grids, PV installations are causing congestion on networks designed to meet peak demand. Jon Ferris, from European energy transition practice LCP Delta, examines the co-location of storage as a strategy to keep solar installations growing.
Mar 11, 2024
China owns the battery market
What happened in solar is also happening in energy storage. Sam Adham and Aaron Wade, from business intelligence provider CRU, report on the trend of Chinese companies successfully commodifying lithium ferro-phosphate (LFP) batteries, which are the predominant type used in energy storage systems.
Mar 11, 2024
PV profits drying up
The Invesco Solar exchange-traded fund (ETF) under-performed the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) stock indexes in January 2024. Jesse Pichel, a managing director at Roth Capital Partners, attributes this to logistics and apparent cashflow problems for some solar companies.
Mar 11, 2024
