Vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) manufacturer VRB Energy will supply a 500kWh energy storage system to a Chinese government scientific facility with the potential that it will be used to help develop the country’s decarbonisation policies.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has said the state is “exploring every resource available as a potential tool to address climate change,” as funding was announced for long-duration energy storage technologies along with investigation on the role of green hydrogen in decarbonisation.

This edition of the round-up is an eclectic mix of stories from the US and Europe.

A US$75 million national research and development (R&D) facility for energy storage is expected to be up and running by 2025, the US Department of Energy said yesterday.

Microgrid simulation facilities at universities in Germany and Australia are being supplied with technical solutions by major global power equipment and systems providers AEG Power Solutions and Hitachi ABB Power Grids.

Batteries, hydrogen and other energy storage should be a “key topic of energy policy,” in the EU, Members of European Parliament (MEP) that worked together on formulating a report into the role of storage in a decarbonised, fair and secure energy system have said.

European Commission greenlights €3.2bn research plan by seven major states to turn continent into global battery hub even as it signals it is ready to block imports on environmental grounds.

24M, a startup battery company founded as a spin-off from MIT, claims it has made a breakthrough in creating semi-solid lithium-ion battery cells with an energy density exceeding 350Wh per kg.

The US government Department of Energy is funding research into storing energy for periods of between 10 and 100 hours, announcing last week that “up to US$30 million” will be available through the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E).

India-based solar manufacturer and EPC player Vikram Solar has signed a collaboration agreement with the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), while at the founding ceremony of the International Solar Alliance (ISA).