Solar Energy Storage and Battery News

The British company, which has tested its liquid air energy storage technology in the U.K., says it is preparing to deploy its first plant on U.S. soil. Highview claims its CRYOBattery is half the price of utility scale lithium-ion storage.

IBM Research has discovered a new battery design that doesn’t use heavy metals and may outperform lithium-ion batteries. To expand the promise of these batteries from the lab into reality, IBM Research has signed joint development agreements with Mercedes-Benz Research and Development North America, battery electrolyte supplier Central Glass, and battery manufacturer Sidus.

Highview Power Storage and renewable energy developer Encore Renewable Energy jointly announced plans to develop the United States’ first long duration, liquid air energy storage system. This facility will be a minimum of 50 MW, provide in excess of eight hours of storage (400 MWh) and will be located in northern Vermont.

With its app already present in Belgium and the Netherlands, start-up Jedlix is introducing smart charging in France. The solution enables Tesla drivers to optimize their charging strategy.

The government of the Caribbean island is planning two solar parks with large scale storage with the help of the Inter-American Development Bank and the United States Agency for International Development. Inter-American is seeking technical help with tendering the projects.

The State of Massachusetts has awarded Envision Solar a statewide contract for the deployment of EV ARC transportable solar-powered EV charging solutions

Lockheed Martin reports it has signed a teaming agreement with TC Energy in which the two companies will identify and develop large-scale, long-duration energy storage projects using GridStar Flow, Lockheed Martin's innovative flow battery technology.

UK battery storage firm Zenobe has secured £25 million in funding from Santander as it looks to continue its growth.

Today's commonly used silicon solar cells are heavy and bulky, and take up a lot of space to produce power. Newer models, made from soft materials that are flexible and versatile, are cheaper to produce but also much less efficient than their pricier counterparts.

Scientists from Penn State University have developed a self-heating battery for electric vehicles which is said charge in only 10 minutes at 60 degrees Celsius.

Huanghe Hydropower Development has started work on the first phase of a huge renewable energy project which will eventually feature 10 GW of solar generation capacity along with 5 GW of wind and 1 GW of concentrating solar power. Trina will supply 600 MW of modules to the first phase of the facility.

NYSERDA has contracted with GlidePath’s unit for construction of a 20MW storage facility. The project will be deployed in Town of Ulster instead of the fossil-fuel plant proposed earlier.

Japan’s electric utility KEPCO prolongs a trial project with Australia’s peer-to-peer energy trading company Power Ledger. The project is meant for tracking RECs and ptp trading power generated by solar plants.

A group of Korean researchers, headed by Prof Soojin Park, has created foldable batts with thin 3D organic electrodes.

German high-end auto giant BMW said Wednesday it had struck a deal with a Chinese supplier covering all of its own lithium needs for electric car batteries for the forthcoming five years.