German government devotes €1bn to battery cell production
The Federal Ministry of Economics has published further details of possible battery cell production on a gigawatt scale. At the Networking Conference Electromobility 2018 in Berlin this week, Minister Peter Altmaier stressed the urgency of the project, for Germany and Europe to be independent of Asia and the US in storage technology.
Edison connects large-scale storage system at PV plant in southern Italy
The Italian power provider has implemented its first pilot storage projects linked to solar. The system can provide grid services such as primary and secondary frequency regulation and tertiary and voltage regulation.
NantEnergy acquires Sharp’s US energy systems & services
Zinc battery specialist NantEnergy has acquired the U.S. energy systems and services business from Japanese electronics giant Sharp. The acquisition, according to NantEnergy, will provide the company with an important foothold in the U.S. market and allow it to provide “energy as a service” business models, using its Zinc-air battery, in multiple markets.
UK storage on the fly with 6.9 GW cumulative pipeline
At an event in London, a new tool was presented which lets the user track the UK storage landscape. The market is gaining traction amidst disfavourable policies for solar PV and other renewables from Westminster. The UK’s storage portfolio seems to be growing rapidly.
SolarEdge’s latest quarterly results show robust growth
The inverter maker took number one spot in the US from SMA this year, and acquired majority stakes and IP in uninterrupted power supply company Gamatronic and storage system provider Kokam. While other companies have consolidated, SolarEdge managed to report robust results.
More subsidy free solar + storage for the UK
Local authority West Sussex County Council has commissioned the 7.4 MW Westhampnett Solar Farm, co-located with a 4.4 MW lithium-ion battery. The project was built without government subsidy, according to the council, and is expected to deliver significant income over its 25-year lifetime.
Solar and storage show steady growth as Tesla finally turns a profit
Tesla energy storage deployments grew 18% and storage deployments grew 11%, as the EV + battery + solar company achieves its a long-awaited quarterly profit on the success of its Model 3.
Northvolt to open battery assembly plant in Poland
Swedish battery supplier Northvolt has announced plans for a manufacturing plant in Gdansk, Poland. The company says that the plant will have an initial capacity of 10,000 battery modules per year and will begin production in 2019.
BASF to build battery material factory in Finland
As part of a strategic alliance, BASF and Norilsk Nickel aim to meet growing demand for battery materials for electric vehicles.
Poland to see its first large-scale solar storage project
Project was developed by Chinese storage system provider and panel manker BYD. The system is linked to a 1 MW solar plant built by the same company.
