Energy Storage

Horizon Power, Western Australia’s regional power provider, will deploy a 78 kW/220 kWh vanadium flow battery in the state’s north as it seeks to increase its understanding of how the Australian-born technology can be best utilised to support long periods of 100% renewable energy supply in regional and remote areas.

Energy storage specialist Eku Energy says the 200 MW/400 MWh Rangebank Battery being developed on the outskirts of Melbourne will be operational by the end of next year with early site works having now commenced on the grid-scale project.

The Alpha 150 battery, produced in the Netherlands by Adelaide-headquarted electronics manufacturer Redarc, has a lifespan of more than 5,000 cycles and a continuous discharge rating of 200 A.

A team of engineers at Melbourne’s RMIT University have developed a rechargeable ‘proton battery’, claiming the technology has the potential, with further development, to store more energy than currently available lithium-ion batteries.

Renewable energy developer Neoen will scale up the installed capacity of the Western Downs Battery being built in Queensland to 270 MW/540 MWh as it looks to keep pace with rising demand for energy storage and realise opportunities across Australia’s evolving energy system.

Transgrid, Australia’s major grid operator, plans to soon launch a competitive process to procure grid support services from third-party battery operators as it looks beyond traditional network infrastructure to help maintain the reliability of electricity supply in two growth regions in New South Wales.

Clean energy investor Global Sustainable Energy Opportunities expects to gain access to additional revenue streams in Australia’s National Electricity Market after completing the retrofit of a battery energy storage system at an operating solar farm in South Australia.

The New South Wales government has provided planning approvals for two new grid-scale batteries that will deliver a combined 540 MWh of energy storage capacity to support the state’s rapidly changing energy market.

Global demand for sodium-ion batteries is expected to grow to just under 70 GWh in 2033, from 10 GWh in 2025, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27%, according to UK-based market research company IDTechEx.

Researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in America have demonstrated the use of sugar water to improve the performance of flow batteries for grid-scale energy storage.