Energy storage

Concerns about energy security, along with the "affordability" of solar energy, have led to more than $1 billion being invested in US solar-storage companies and projects in recent weeks.

Europe’s powerbrokers need to spend a little more time listening to Susan Taylor. Taylor is an energy storage analyst at the Brussels-based European Association for Storage of Energy (EASE). Research published by EASE concluded that storage deployment must hit 14GW annually to bring Europe’s 2030 climate goals within reach. Despite the warning, Taylor says there is no EU-wide storage strategy driven by targets.

Hitachi Energy’s size marks it out as one of the bigger players in the energy storage sector. Headquartered in Switzerland, Hitachi Energy employs around 38,000 people in 90 countries and receives orders valued at a total of approximately $10 billion per year. It’s latest play in the energy storage market takes the form of its updated ‘E-mesh’ product, launched in November last year.

The cost of lithium (which is used in approximately 90% of the world’s grid-scale battery storage) has plummeted in recent years and projections showing the rapid expansion of the storage market are based on what some consider to be the false premise that the cost of lithium will continue to decrease.

Are you getting the most out of your energy storage assets? Peter Bance, chief executive of green energy technology provider Origami, says that many operators of energy storage assets are failing to grasp an opportunity to harness the power of real-time data.

Opportunities abound in the US and UK storage sectors and investors view both markets as having significant growth potential. US solar plus storage projects have proved to be particularly attractive in recent weeks with banking and wealth management company Investec and energy transition investment company Captona among those to have finalised deals.

Energy operators are increasingly aware of how software can boost profits at wind and solar farms. Now they want the same for storage.

Energy storage system manufacturer Storage Power Solutions (SPS) has spotted a big opportunity. The Canadian company – which is headed by co-founders and managing directors Laszlo Lakatos-Hayward and Mike Oreskovic – reckons the North American market for behind-the-meter commercial and industrial (C&I) customers with DC-coupled solar plus storage offers rich pickings. So, now it’s time to scale-up.

Amp Energy is aiming to take the UK energy storage market by storm. And the company – which develops solar, wind, hybrid, standalone battery storage and green hydrogen projects – has already made its mark.

This week, US-headquartered energy storage products, services and digital applications company Fluence announced record revenues. In the second quarter of its current financial year, the company posted a whopping $343 million in revenue, up a massive 249 per cent on the same quarter last year. Momentum is clearly with Washington DC-based Fluence, which is now on course for annual revenue of around $1.1 billion in 2022 after its IPO in October last year.

The recent $1.9 billion debt and equity financing of the Gemini solar and storage project in Clark County, Nevada was described as "monumental" by Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners, the owner of the project. It's not hard to see why. It's a deal that has taken years to put together and means construction of the 690 MWac/966 MWdc solar PV and 380 MW/1,416 MWh battery storage project can now begin.

Canada, and the city of Toronto in particular, has proved to be a hotbed of energy storage activity and innovation in recent months. The country – which is ranked 15th in the world in terms of GDP per capita – is home to a number of companies that have been making significant strides in the energy storage market of late including Canadian Solar, Hydrostor, NRStor, Amp Energy and e-Zinc.