Energy Storage

The way has been smoothed for Australian mining company Sunrise Energy Metals to take advantage of the booming lithium-ion battery industry with the federal government awarding Major Project Status to a $2.4 billion nickel and cobalt mine being developed in New South Wales.

The transformation of the former Hazelwood coal-fired power station in Victoria has commenced with French renewables giant Engie announcing work has begun on a 150 MW/150 MWh battery energy storage system which is being constructed at the site.

Western Australia has today announced the launch of its $35.5 million Virtual Power Plant trial, Project Symphony, which will examine the ways in which residents, utilities, and network operators can join forces to centrally orchestrate the output of rooftop solar, batteries and other distributed resources to best serve both customers and the grid at large.

Melbourne-based company Green Peak Energy has attracted the backing of one of the world’s largest investment firms, CBRE Investment Management. While deal’s details remain confidential, the Australian company, which focuses on operating renewable systems in the C&I segment and providing power purchasing agreements (PPAs), described the agreement as an endorsement of the problem it set out to solve.

German company sonnen, a wholly owned subsidiary of Shell, today launched a new residential battery storage system specifically developed for Australia and New Zealand. Chief Commercial Officer of sonnenGroup and Managing Director of sonnen Australia, Nathan Dunn, told pv magazine Australia its sonnenBatterie Evo is the culmination of a new approach and may go on to inform how its future products for global markets are developed.

AGL has “broken ground” at Torrens Island power station in preparation for the construction of its 250 MW/250 MWh battery which has drawn interest for being the largest planned grid-forming battery in the world.

Geelong Port, one of Australia’s major ports southwest of Melbourne, today announced it will invest $100 million to establish a hydrogen hub in partnership with biomass gasification outfit CAC-H2.

Scientists in the United States pieced together data from hundreds of different sources, looking to establish the key factors that have led to consistently falling prices for lithium-ion technology since their commercialisation thirty years ago. They find that public-funded research, primarily in chemistry and materials science, has made the largest contribution to cost reduction. And they offer suggestions on policy and investment to ensure that the research can continue to make these important contributions to reduction in battery costs.

NREL scientists have unveiled a storage system based on a phase-change material that can store both thermal energy and electricity in a single device. According to the researchers, the new technology may be used to store excess electricity produced by on-site solar or wind operations in large scale buildings.

Batteries are taking the energy world by storm. From residential home storage systems to large-scale installations, today’s society increasingly relies on powerful batteries. And, as we all know, with great power comes great responsibility. But, how can we ensure that our use of batteries today is responsible, cost-effective, or even safe? Kai-Philipp Kairies, CEO of Accure Battery Intelligence, shares some of his experience gained from monitoring more than 750 MWh of various storage applications.