German utility E.On is to develop its own energy storage products in partnership with manufacturer SOLARWATT.

Power conversion technology developer Ideal Power announced that it has signed off on a Master Purchase Agreement with Powin Corporation — a provider of commercial and industrial energy storage systems — to supply its 30kW and 125kW power conversion systems for Powin’s selection of commercial battery energy storage systems.

Utilities will “embrace energy storage” this year, while the development of standardised contracts and aggregated behind-the-meter storage are expected to take the energy storage world by storm, according to Navigant Research.

Lichtblick, a retailer of ‘green electricity and green gas’ headquartered in Germany, is looking to take its concept for integrating multiple distributed generation sources into a single network into international markets.

Germany’s support programme for solar-plus-storage systems, which offers a rebate on the devices, has been officially re-launched as expected by the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy.

The UK looks set for the arrival of energy storage in a big way this year. While these companies and their battery chemistries are fighting it out for both market share and brand awareness, several energy storage systems have been deployed already on a commercial basis using a more novel storage technology – the saltwater battery.

Nigel Morris, chief executive at solar firm RoofJuice Australia, who has been in the solar game for more than two decades, explains what stands in the way of Australia’s significant energy storage potential.

Tesla executives were unwilling to publicly put figures on expected sales for the company’s stationary storage products or for near-term cost reduction objectives, but said that production is on track.

Thus far, the relationship between incumbent utilities and the rise of distributed energy storage has been a difficult one. Cosmin Laslau of Lux Research gives his quick take on one US utility’s plan to stay in the game, offering Tesla Powerwalls to customers in three different ownership models.

AGL Energy has invested US$20 million in energy storage manufacturer Sunverge, as Australia’s biggest utility set up a fund worth ten times that to help meet its climate change commitments.