Wärtsilä

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.

Non-synchronous renewable energy affects grid stability but storage-as-transmission (SAT) assets offer grid companies a trump card. Whether it’s “virtual transmission” in Australia, Germany’s “Grid Booster” program, or the giga-scale pipeline of projects emerging in the United Kingdom, energy storage is finding a way.

San Miguel, which is now behind on its original plan to deliver a 1 GW/1 GWh fleet of battery energy storage systems (BESS) by the end of 2022, continues to roll out big batteries across 32 sites in the Philippines, in order to integrate up to 5 GW of renewables into the island nation’s grid.

Singapore-based infrastructure developer Equis has announced plans to construct a 1,200 MW/2.4 GWh battery in Australia. It claims it will be the largest battery energy storage system to be developed in Australia and Asia.

Finland’s Wärtsilä has unveiled its next-generation grid balancing technology. It has an efficiency of 52.3% and can be used for baseload production. It connects to the grid in 30 seconds and operates on natural gas, biogas, or hydrogen blends.

The first 20MW/20MWh battery energy storage system in the 470MW/470MWh portfolio Fluence is deploying for Filipino conglomerate San Miguel Corp has started serving the island nation’s electricity network.

Filipino conglomerate San Miguel Corp aims to complete 1GW of battery storage projects this year to make way for the integration of some 3GW of intermittent renewable energy generation.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency has announced a AUD100 million competitive funding round for grid scale batteries. While battery technology agnostic, the projects must be equipped with advanced inverter technology.

The 25MW/48MWh battery will be the country’s largest energy storage system to date. The project is touted as the first large-scale battery project based on lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistry in Europe.

The energy storage system, which is set to be up and running in around a year’s time, will be supplied by Finnish company Wärtsilä and will provide services including reserve power and frequency control response.