A fire at a large-scale battery energy storage project late last week left four firefighters injured in Arizona, with two reported to be seriously injured, in an incident now under investigation. On Friday 19 April, firefighters were called to a fire at utility Arizona Public Service’s (APS) energy storage facility in Surprise, West Valley, Arizona. […]
When Lithium-ion became the new normal
In the last few years, lithium-ion batteries have achieved a much lower TCO than traditional lead acid batteries. Users are overcoming their conservatism and looking at the new technology Critical facilities need battery back-up and, until recently, the de facto standard was valve regulated lead acid (VRLA) batteries combined with uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs), But […]
New York’s latest Innovation Challenge targets long duration energy storage startups
The development of systems capable of storing over six hours of energy economically is being supported in New York with an Innovation Challenge launched by the New York Power Authority (NYPA) and Urban Future Lab, a cleantech innovation centre. Also aimed at supporting promising new technologies and business models for electric vehicles (EVs) and their […]
Australian Energy Market Operator opens virtual power plant integration trial
The capabilities of virtual power plants (VPPs) to provide capacity as well as frequency regulation services to the grid in Australia will be demonstrated through a new integration trial. The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), is running the 12 to 18-month trial, with funding of AU$2.46 million (US$1.75 million) through the national renewables agency ARENA, […]
‘World first’ grid-scale lithium-vanadium hybrid project will be in the UK
Pivot Power will collaborate with manufacture and system integrator redT on what is claimed to be the world’s first grid-scale hybrid battery energy storage project to use a combination of lithium-ion and vanadium technologies. Pivot Power is a relatively new company that has quickly risen to prominence in the UK over the past few months […]
Overcoming uncertainty: UK energy storage market trends
The fourth annual UK Energy Storage Summit gathered industry professionals in the heart of London last week. The two-day event saw a wide range of topics discussed, debated, and disagreed upon, from regulatory issues to the Capacity Market to the rising demand for flexibility. In a Q&A with Energy-Storage.news, Solar Media Market Research analyst Lauren Cook […]
Utilities are starting to invest in big batteries instead of building new power plants
Due to their decreasing costs, lithium-ion batteries now dominate a range of applications including electric vehicles, computers and consumer electronics. You might only think about energy storage when your laptop or cellphone are running out of juice, but utilities can plug bigger versions into the electric grid. And thanks to rapidly declining lithium-ion battery prices, […]
UNC Charlotte Researchers Find Ways To Make Lithium-Ion Batteries Safer
Researchers at UNC Charlotte’s Motor Sport and Automotive Research Center are known for their work in improving the performance of race cars. They are expanding that work to now include research on lithium-ion batteries, which are commonly used in smart phones and electric vehicles. The problem is they sometimes explode or catch fire. At the […]