Energy storage developers have an opportunity to prove the benefits of storage systems compared to fossil fuel technologies in what will be one of the fastest energy storage procurements in history pending in California, according to industry commentators and analysts.

Moves by the US’ Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to assess electricity storage’s potential role in wholesale markets and in maintaining a low-cost, reliable network have been welcomed by the Washington-headquartered Energy Storage Association.

ABB has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Chennai-based engineering and research organisation, the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) to partner on building microgrids and develop R&D in the battery energy storage area.

French manufacturer Leclanche will supply battery storage systems to a 13MW capacity storage project with 53MWh of storage duration in Ontario to be used for voltage control and in providing reactive power support to the grid.

Placing a battery onto the grid is an economic investment. Matthew Hunt from the UK’s Chargesync discusses strategies for extracting the maximum value from devices and systems through optimising performance.

Lithium-ion battery-based energy storage for commercial and industrial customers in the US lies on the cusp of becoming “viable” over the next three to five years, according to international credit rating agency Moody’s.

The latest claimant to the crown of ‘largest flow battery installation in North America and Europe’ has emerged, with the award of a 2MW project in Canada to US manufacturer Vizn Energy.

Energy storage start-up Stem says it sees “strong opportunity” for expansion of its business in Australia, Japan and the EU, in the week when the company closed a US$12 million funding round led by Japanese trading company Mitsui & Co.

Remaining on the grid while using solar paired with batteries is likely to become a more economically attractive option for commercial and residential customers in key US markets, a new report from the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) claims.

Will the Indian battery market scenario witness a major change? As the power supply in the country continues to be unreliable, the role of batteries has to change from being an emergency back-up solution to a long time power/energy storage solution.