Energy Storage

In a decidedly confusing announcement, Swedish molten aluminium storage startup Azelio says it has secured a conditional order from unknown Australian company MPG Built. Azelio says the order will see it provide “energy-as-a-service” using five of its TES.POD storage units combined with solar power.

Environmental approval from the government of South Australia means Renascor Resources is now a step closer to realising its integrated graphite supply chain. Graphite is a key component in lithium-ion battery production and Renascor’s South Australian deposit is considered the largest outside of Africa.

Civil and building works have now been completed on the site of the Northern Territory’s $45 million (USD 30.2 million) big battery, known as the Darwin-Katherine Battery Energy Storage System. The 35 MVA battery is being delivered by Hitachi Energy and will deploy Virtual Synchronous Machine technology, allowing it to provide virtual inertia and system strength services to the grid.

With construction underway on a $295 million (USD 197 million) transmission project to connect the landmark Kidston Clean Energy Hub to the grid in far north Queensland, developer Genex Power has announced plans to boost the generation capacity of what is already Australia’s largest hybrid energy project combining wind, solar and pumped hydro.

Australian renewable energy startup Green Gravity plans to accelerate the commercialisation of its gravitational energy storage technology – which aims to generate clean, dispatchable energy by lowering weights down old mine shafts – after inking an agreement with global professional services company GHD.

The Clean Energy Council has reiterated calls to reform the grid connection process to provide increased certainty and security for investors after a new report revealed only one renewable energy generation project reached financial close in Australia in the third quarter of 2022.

AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group has energised its first hybrid storage system based on lithium-ion batteries and vanadium redox flow batteries in Germany. The system reportedly combines the advantages and electrochemical properties of both storage technologies.

Energy giant AGL has disclosed it will shutter its gas-fired Torrens Island B power station in South Australia within four years, citing the impending completion of a new electricity interconnector that will link power grids across three Australian states, unlocking gigawatts of new wind, solar PV and storage projects.

The ACCC, Australia’s consumer watchdog, has begun contacting almost 5,000 households as part of an updated recall on LG solar batteries prone to overheat and catch fire, with the watchdog noting the dangerous products may fall under various brand names. The news comes as NSW Fire and Rescue reported a massive spike in battery fires for 2022.

Australian renewables developer North Harbour Clean Energy will team with European battery energy storage systems supplier CellCube to establish a vanadium redox flow battery manufacturing and assembly facility in Australia with a projected capacity of up to 1 GW/8 GWh per annum.