This year started with two big announcements from technology firms QuantumScape, which is developing proprietary lithium-ion solid state battery technology, and 24M, which holds the patent for the battery materials it brands ‘SemiSolid’ and a production process for manufacturing SemiSolid batteries using it (licensees include gigafactory firm Freyr).

NYSE-listed QuantumScape started January by revealing the results of test by automotive group Volkswagen which showed its battery tech retained over 95% of capacity after 1,000+ charging cycles, far better than the industry standard of 80% after 700 cycles.

A week later 24M, headquartered in Massachusetts, revealed a ‘transformative new battery separator’, 24M Impervio, which it claimed would redefine battery safety in the EV, ESS and consumer markets. In October, it launched a new electrode-to-pack system called ETOP allowing battery and battery pack manufacturers to achieve “the highest energy density available at the pack level while cutting costs”.

24M expects ESS applications for ETOP in 2025, QuantumScape not revealing commercialisation roadmap

However, in response to questions from Energy-Storage.news, both companies indicated that applications within the ESS segment still need more time.

Discussing ETOP, 24M said: “We anticipate smaller volume commercial sales will begin in 2024 with a focus on the lead acid battery market. Sales in more traditional ESS and EV applications will take longer, but we expect that sales into ESS applications could begin as early as 2025.”

Discussing its solid state technology at large, QuantumScape told us: “While we believe our technology has applications in a variety of industries beyond transportation – including energy storage – we have not disclosed a commercialisation roadmap for non-automotive applications.”

24M said it couldn’t comment on specific business strategic of licensee partners, which, alongside Freyr and also Volkswagen, are Kyocera, Itochu, GPSC, Fujifilm, Axxiva and LucasTVS.

Specifically, Energy-Storage.news asked how Freyr’s recent announcement that it was pausing its European investments and ramp-up and considering setting up manufacturing elsewhere using conventional lithium-ion technology (licensed from Sunwoda) would affect 24M’s commercialisation roadmap.

Freyr’s flagship Norway gigafactory been set up to produce cells using 24MW’s semi-solid platform, but will only begin commercial production when Europe comes up with an adequate policy response to the US’ Inflation Reduction Act’s generous tax credits for clean energy manufacturing, Freyr CEO Birger Steen told us in November.

QuantumScape similarly said that its path to commercialisation would depend on its partners, providing an update to its production ramp-up:

“QSE-5, a ~5 amp-hour cell, is QuantumScape’s first planned commercial product. The VW results are especially meaningful because the prototype cell tested has the same number of layers (24) and uses the same proprietary cell format as the QSE-5.”

“As we said on our last quarterly results call, we are targeting initial low-volume B cells off lower throughput equipment in 2024 and are targeting the first B-sample cells using higher throughput equipment approximately at the end of 2025. QuantumScape’s automotive partners designate when its solid-state lithium-metal battery technology is put into actual vehicles that are available for sale.”

Commodity price reporting agency (PRA) fastmarkets recently wrote a guest blog for Energy-Storage.news on the promise of solid state and sodium-ion batteries in the EV and ESS markets.

Energy-Storage.news’ publisher Solar Media will host the 9th annual Energy Storage Summit EU in London, 20-21 February 2024. This year it is moving to a larger venue, bringing together Europe’s leading investors, policymakers, developers, utilities, energy buyers and service providers all in one place. Visit the official site for more info.

Energy-Storage.news’ publisher Solar Media will host the 5th Energy Storage Summit USA, 19-20 March 2024 in Austin, Texas. Featuring a packed programme of panels, presentations and fireside chats from industry leaders focusing on accelerating the market for energy storage across the country. For more information, go to the website.

Continue reading

Those development targets will be for the company’s forward pipeline of projects alongside 120MW of operational BESS projects it developed and sold to long-term owners. It has brought a further 350MW to the construction stage while 300MW is ready-to-build, and its ‘advanced stage’ pipeline is 2GW.

A notable partnership that Energy-Storage.news has reported on is with investor Obton, to which Kyon sold nearly 200MW of projects last year. Kyon is also developing a 137.5MW/275MWh BESS in Lower Saxony, for which it was granted approval in November, a month after getting the go-ahead for a 58MW/116MWh system in Saxony-Anhalt.

TotalEnergies said the acquisition fits into an integrated energy strategy, after offshore wind wins in Germany and the acquisition of aggregator Quadra Energy.

TotalEnergies also owns France-headquartered BESS technology provider Saft, which serves the transport, industry and defence sectors and is particularly known for deploying projects in remote or extreme weather locations.

Saft regularly deploys projects for its parent company – including in the US, France and Belgium – so this acquisition could provide opportunities to make inroads in the German market too.

After a quiet few years prior, the grid-scale energy storage market in Germany has picked up since 2021 as high prices in ancillary service markets, energy trading opportunities and falls in the cost of lithium-ion BESS products combined to create a strong business case.

Progress has also been made in the country’s regulatory environment for energy storage, with regulators extending a grid free exemption for large-scale BESS to 2029 and then lawmakers last week publishing its first Electricity Storage Strategy.

Kyon Energy’s managing director Florian Antwerpen shared his views for a recent Year in Review article along with fellow European developer/operators Aquila Clean Energy EMEA and Baywa r.e.

Energy-Storage.news’ publisher Solar Media will host the 9th annual Energy Storage Summit EU in London, 20-21 February 2024. This year it is moving to a larger venue, bringing together Europe’s leading investors, policymakers, developers, utilities, energy buyers and service providers all in one place. Visit the official site for more info.

Continue reading

The batteries are charged during times of abundant solar PV generation, or other off-peak periods when electricity is relatively cheap and low emissions. They then output to the grid when demand peaks, helping not only meet the shortfall of electricity generation capacity but also to keep the network stable.

Stage three will see a total of 12 battery energy storage system (BESS) units, each of 4MW output and 8MWh storage capacity, installed in various communities across the state.

In stage four, flow batteries made by local manufacturers will be installed and their suitability as an alternative or complement to lithium-ion (Li-ion) technology put to the test.

“We have the highest rate of rooftop solar anywhere in Australia so it’s only night that we equip our energy network to keep pace with the high rates of solar generation,” Miles said.

With Australia in turn having some of the highest rooftop solar PV adoption rates globally, that would make Queensland a “world leader” in solar too, as Miles also said.

“These batteries will take the heat out of the peak demand periods, and that puts downward pressure on electricity prices, benefiting households and businesses. Investing in batteries helps build the clean energy supply chain, creating business opportunities and jobs for Queenslanders,” state energy minister Mick de Brenni said.

While Australia is experiencing a boom in large-scale transmission-connected BESS projects, increasingly in the range of more than a hundred megawatts per asset, there is also thought to be a strong case for batteries at local community level. It could pencil out cheaper than expecting individual households to buy a system each, for example, while also putting storage on the network at strategic points where it is most useful. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is currently running a competitive solicitation with AU$210 million funding available for community or neighbourhood batteries; the agency said in November that it had received more than a billion dollars-worth of applications.

‘Win-win-win scenario’

Queensland, historically Australia’s highest emitting among the states, has in place ambitious renewables and decarbonisation goals, including 70% renewables for electricity by 2032 and the cessation of coal-fired generation from state-owned power plants by 2035.

These were put in place through the Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan launched September 2022 by Miles’ predecessor as Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. The then-premier intended the plan to ensure economic opportunities for the state as well as its transition away from fossil fuels.

The AU$62 billion plan called for the deployment of 11.5GW of new rooftop solar and 6GW of embedded battery storage by the middle of the next decade.

Within that, Palaszczuk’s Labor Party created the AU$4.5 billion Queensland Renewable Energy and Hydrogen Jobs Fund. It is from there that the money for the local network battery systems announced last week will come from.

“This battery programme is fundamental to our success in achieving 70% renewable energy by 2030, and net zero emissions by 2050,” Miles said.

The initial stage of the programme saw five systems deployed, the second saw another 12 installed. The chief engineer for Energy Queensland, the state-owned company tasked with the rollout, said the next stage of the programme will “build off what we have leant from the past sites developed in stage one and two, to ensure that efficiencies and benefits are continually added into the programme,” Peter Price said.

“By basing the batteries in communities where there are large volumes of roof top solar means renewable energy will be generated locally, stored locally, and then used locally, reducing the pressure on the network,” Price said.

“With these battery projects we’re aiming for a win-win-win scenario that achieves the energy trifecta for communities throughout the state – affordability, security and sustainability.”

It’s also interesting to note that Queensland’s Energy and Jobs Plan also pledged support to creating a flow battery industry ecosystem in the state.

Queensland has abundant natural resources of vanadium, the main ingredient in vanadium flow battery electrolyte and the state is supporting the construction of a vanadium electrolyte factory from locally-headquartered Vecco Group.

However, it is also supporting two different flow battery technologies as well: ESI Asia-Pacific, a business making flow batteries using iron electrolyte technologies licensed from US manufacturer ESS Inc is building production facilities in the state with government support and zinc-bromine hybrid flow battery maker Redflow is headquartered in Queensland and recently got funding support for a project there along with ESI Asia-Pacific.  

“Stage four of the plan will be particularly exciting as it will investigate the suitability of two batteries as an alternative to lithium batteries, with the added bonus of potentially kickstarting a local battery industry,” Energy Queensland’s Peter Price said.

Energy-Storage.news’ publisher Solar Media will host the 1st Energy Storage Summit Australia, on 21-22 May 2024 in Sydney, NSW. Featuring a packed programme of panels, presentations and fireside chats from industry leaders focusing on accelerating the market for energy storage across the country. For more information, go to the website.

Continue reading

Credit: Les Chatfield

Nexamp has announced that its Chicago office will serve as the company’s second national headquarters, planning to add an additional 50 team members there by 2026. 

The expansion is part of more than $2 billion in planned Illinois investments through the company’s existing and in-development projects.

“We began our work in Illinois in 2018 in response to the Future Energy Jobs Act, which created the state’s first community solar program and sought to accelerate Illinois’ decarbonization efforts,” says Nexamp CEO Zaid Ashai. 

“Thanks to Governor Pritzker’s leadership in securing the passage of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act in 2021, Illinois is our fastest growing market. But the state is far more than just an attractive market for solar generation. For Nexamp, it’s a state which shares our vision of a cleaner, more equitable energy future powered by a diverse, equitable, and skilled workforce. As we sought a location for a second headquarters, Illinois was the natural choice because of our mutual interest in seeing clean energy work for, and do right by, everyone.”

Nexamp’s first Chicago office opened in 2019 and has since grown from five to 80 team members. The company has roughly 75 projects in operation or under development in the state that it estimates will generate close to 300 MW.

Continue reading

Deriva Energy has acquired Spanish Peaks Solar, a 140 MW solar project in Las Animas County, Colo., from power developer JUWI.

With the addition of the site, Deriva Energy will own and operate 388 MW in Colorado and is set to provide energy to Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association through a 19-year PPA. 

“We are excited to announce the successful acquisition of this promising solar project,” says Chris Fallon, Deriva Energy president. “This project underscores our commitment to implementing solutions for a viable energy future. We are thrilled to collaborate with JUWI again in Colorado to create job opportunities, provide clean energy solutions for Tri-State customers, and support the economic growth of Las Animas County.” 

Spanish Peaks commenced construction and is expected to come online in the last quarter of this year. JUWI is responsible for the engineering, procurement and construction of the project. Solar modules will be procured by Deriva, who will own the plant and share operations and maintenance responsibilities with JUWI. 

Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association Tri-State is a not-for-profit power supply cooperative of 45 members and includes 42 utility electric distribution cooperative and public power district members in four states.

Continue reading

In addition to 700MW already retired, around the same amount again is actively being moved towards end of life.

The numbers come from an environmental justice group called PEAK Coalition, which also noted that progress has been made on a number of large-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) projects planned at the sites of retiring or retired peaker plants.

Battery storage is one of a number of different technologies that can be used to replace peaking capacity. While lithium-ion batteries with 4-hour duration might be the most directly analogous in terms of technical capability to peakers, effectively retiring the power plants could be facilitated with a combination of other resources including rooftop solar, offshore wind and energy efficiency measures.

New York still has around 6GW of peakers in operation. They only run for about 5% of hours in the year, they are rarely called into action for more than eight hours at a time, but make a significant contribution to greenhouse gas (GHG) and particulate emissions levels while also being expensive to run and maintain.

They are also more heavily concentrated into urban areas towards New York City, rather than in the less populated Upstate regions, and this means a disproportionate burden of those health and environmental costs is being borne by low-income and ethnic minority demographics.

According to a 2020 study, around 750,000 people live within one mile of a peaker plant in New York City (NYC) and of those, 78% are in low-income communities or communities of colour, while close to 90% of all power generated for reliability needs in New York State, is generated in NYC.

On some days of poor air quality, peakers can account for as much as 94% of the state’s nitrogen oxide (NOX) emissions.

Peak progress

Meanwhile, New York’s 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) committed the state to 70% renewable energy by 2030, 100% emissions-free electricity by 2040 and 85% reduction in GHG emissions from 1990 levels by 2050. Regular readers of Energy-Storage.news will also be aware that New York has a 6GW by 2030 energy storage deployment target.

With all of that in mind, PEAK Coalition – formed by groups including New York Lawyers for the Public Interest and the New York City Environmental Justice Group – began a collaboration in 2020 with the New York Power Authority (NYPA) public utility to form plans to retire NYPA’s own 461MW fleet of peakers.

That included investigating the feasibility of long-duration energy storage (LDES), as well as short-duration. In 2021, PEAK Coalition commissioned consultancy Strategen to model a pathway for New York peaker plant retirement. Strategen wrote it in its pithily titled report, ‘The fossil fuel end game’, that a combination of resources including 5.6GW of solar, 3GW of offshore wind and 4,200MW of BESS could see cost-effective retirements for the entire NYC fleet by 2030.

As reported by this site in April 2022, a year-and-a-half after its collaboration with PEAK Coalition began, NYPA said it had begun a process of transitioning its own fleet to cleaner options.

In the coalition’s newest report, the authors list out the different peaking facilities and what the owners of each have announced as their intentions for them.

They include Eastern Generation/ArcLight Capital Partners’ four peakers. Of those, the owners intend to build large-scale BESS at three, while its plans for the fourth are unknown. The proposed BESS facilities include a 135MW project Eastern Generation’s Astoria Generating Station which has already received approval. At one of its other sites, it has a 320MW BESS planned, and at another it has a BESS of unspecified sizing in the works.

Plant owner ArcLight told Energy-Storage.news back in 2022 that legacy thermal power plant sites make “excellent potential locations for battery projects”.

PEAK Coalition said however that while “encouraging progress” has been made, it is still early days, with the group commenting that there has been “significant pushback from the fossil fuel industry and attempts to perpetuate fossil fuel combustion in the city”.

Energy-Storage.news’ publisher Solar Media will host the 6th Energy Storage Summit USA, 19-20 March 2024 in Austin, Texas. Featuring a packed programme of panels, presentations and fireside chats from industry leaders focusing on accelerating the market for energy storage across the country. For more information, go to the website.

Continue reading

Understanding battery degradation  

All battery-based energy storage systems degrade over time, leading to a loss of capacity. As the energy storage industry grows, it’s critical that project developers proactively plan for this inevitable ‘degradation curve’. Failing to do so will not only limit potential revenues but could even jeopardise the role of energy storage as a key enabler of grid stability and, by extension, the energy transition.  

Energy storage systems that engage in heavy arbitrage are particularly prone to rapid degradation. Arbitrage strategies involve purchasing and storing energy when prices are low and selling and discharging it when the demand for energy increases.

Optimal charging and discharging intervals often run contrary to preferred arbitrage opportunities, meaning developers have limited visibility into the pace at which energy storage systems lose capacity.

Degradation rates also differ by battery type. The primary benefit of LFP battery technology is that it enables a longer lifespan compared to other lithium-ion chemistries. 

Temperatures, both hot and cold, can also have a significant effect on battery degradation.

Managing degradation through oversizing or augmentation  

Traditionally, developers have accommodated battery degradation by oversizing their installations at the initial outset of the project. This approach involves installing more battery capacity upfront than needed and typically consists of site preparation, wiring, and system integration.

The excess capacity enables developers to offset the expected degradation losses over the years, allowing them to maintain the contracted capacity over the project’s lifetime.   

A key advantage of oversizing is that it doesn’t require site mobilisation, permits, additional labour, or the commissioning of new hardware down the line.

Oversizing also enables developers to lock in capital expenditures at the project outset, mitigating future cost uncertainty and helping to improve forecasting. As the cost of lithium-ion batteries continues to fall to new lows, however, developers may lose out on significant savings by taking this approach.

Alternatively, developers may choose to offset degradation by augmenting the capacity periodically throughout the project’s lifetime. In this case, there must be extra physical space with adequate electrical configuration in the initial project layout to add new hardware. Proper planning is critical to minimise downtime and risks associated with augmentation.  

As prices continue to fall, augmentation is becoming an increasingly attractive way for developers to mitigate battery degradation and capacity loss.

It may not be right for every situation, though, as each energy storage project is unique and different augmentation strategies depend on the appetite for potential risk and reward. Still, the likelihood of further cost reductions — especially considering the already low price of lithium-ion battery technology — makes augmentation particularly alluring.  

Choosing between augmentation strategies  

There are two primary methods of augmentation — alternating current augmentation (AC) and direct current (DC) shuffling — that developers can choose between based on their system type, grid connection, and needed services.  

AC augmentation focuses on improving the interplay between the energy storage system and electrical grids, enhancing system stability, and enabling grid support functions. With AC augmentation, new physical infrastructure is added to the project, including inverters and Power Conversion Systems (PCS), which are responsible for making AC electricity usable in downstream devices like energy storage.  

Alongside the PCS, new protective enclosures are installed to house essential components, including the batteries themselves and associated safety, control, and monitoring equipment. The added capacity of AC augmentation can be installed without requiring significant modifications to existing equipment, minimising disruption. It also offers significant system flexibility, allows for incremental sizing, and presents an extremely low risk of technical complications.   

However, there are a few drawbacks associated with AC augmentation that developers should keep in mind, particularly for grid-connected energy storage systems.  

Adding new PCS equipment — while relatively straight forward from a technical standpoint — requires permitting and regulatory approval when connected to the grid. This process is cumbersome, time-consuming, and extremely complicated, slowing down the ability of developers to augment their systems. These limitations don’t impact energy storage systems that are independent from the grid, however. Islanded microgrids can forgo lengthy bureaucratic approvals, making them well-suited for AC augmentation. For grid-connected energy storage systems, DC shuffling is the more suitable augmentation strategy.  

DC shuffling prioritises the internal distribution of energy within battery stacks to ensure balanced charging and discharging of individual cells and modules, which is vital for prolonging battery lifespan and maximising overall system efficiency.  

Whereas AC augmentation primarily focuses on external interactions between energy storage systems and the grid, DC shuffling optimises energy distribution within battery stacks, delivering greater internal efficiency and resiliency.  

By reconfiguring battery enclosures from one string of batteries and transferring them equitably throughout the system, DC shuffling leads to a more balanced distribution of energy across the battery stack.  

A new string of enclosures is then introduced behind the PCS from which the existing batteries were shuffled. This addition guarantees that the overall system retains its power capacity and that the number of PCS units and the nominal power of the plant remain unchanged. This allows DC shuffling augmentation to bypass permitting and regulatory approval, as there are technically no new connections being made to the grid.   

DC shuffling also benefits from lower equipment costs relative to AC augmentation, as there’s greater repurposing of infrastructure. DC shuffling is well suited for grid-connected ESS, though it may not always be possible due to technical limitations, from auxiliary load breaker and busbar limitations to short circuit ratings. Consequently, developers must diligently evaluate the specific technical and operational aspects of their systems before deciding whether to invest in AC or DC augmentation.  

Battery degradation management will remain important into the future  

With hundreds of gigawatts worth of battery-based energy storage systems operating at a global scale, mitigating capacity losses will become a central part of managing projects for developers and integrators in the years to come.

Careful battery degradation management practices including augmentation will enable developers to drive greater performance, lower lifetime costs, and keep the renewable energy transition moving forward.  

About the author

Giriraj Rathore, in his role as the business strategy manager at Wärtsilä Energy, harnesses a blend of technical expertise and strategic acumen to drive innovation in energy storage solutions. His grasp of market trends and emerging technologies helps foster sustainable energy initiatives and paves the way for a greener, more efficient energy landscape. His educational background includes a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, complemented by an MBA specialising in international business.  

Continue reading

Credit: Markus Braun

SolarEdge has announced a company restructuring plan that includes an approximate 16% workforce reduction, or around 900 employees. 

Designed to align its cost structure to current market dynamics, other cost reduction efforts include discontinuing manufacturing in Mexico, manufacturing reductions in China and termination of the company’s light commercial vehicle e-mobility activity. 

“We have made a very difficult, but necessary decision to implement a workforce reduction and other cost-cutting measures in order to align our cost structure with the rapidly changing market dynamics,” says SolarEdge CEO Zvi Lando. 

“We are making every effort to treat our departing colleagues with respect and gratitude for their contributions and support them in their transition. We remain confident in the long-term growth of the solar energy market and our leading position in the smart energy space. These changes do not impact our strategic direction and priorities and we remain committed to continue to drive the renewable energy transformation, while providing best in class technology and support to our customers.”

Continue reading

Empact Technologies has entered a new agreement with Ampliform to provide Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) compliance management software and services. 

Under the agreement terms, Empact will manage compliance for Ampliform’s current and future projects, including its approximately 700 MW of projects in short-term development and additional 3 GW of projects in development. 

“Our mission is to optimize solar and renewable energy projects, and we are delighted to partner with Empact to manage IRA compliance for our projects,” says Ampliform’s Rob Stoever. “Empact is the first dedicated platform in the industry that guides energy development projects through IRA tax incentive compliance, and we are already seeing the benefits of our partnership.”

Empact will work with Ampliform’s project firms, subcontractors and suppliers to manage tax incentive qualification and compliance throughout the project lifecycle. 

“We’re excited to help Ampliform meet the requirements to qualify for the maximum IRA tax incentives and to ensure compliance for their projects,” says Charles Dauber, Empact CEO and founder. “The team at Ampliform had the leadership and foresight to recognize the significant risks of IRA non-compliance and the need to have third party compliance management in place prior to construction kick-off. We look forward to helping Ampliform fully leverage the IRA tax incentives to develop and build their project development pipeline.” 

Continue reading

The government is already known to be keen to support the development of large-scale energy storage system facilities as a key tool for integrating the 500GW of non-fossil fuel energy generation it is targeting the deployment of by 2030 and in extending access to electricity across the country.

Last year’s Union Budget included an announcement of Viability Gap Funding for 4GWh of projects as part of a US$4 billion ‘Green Growth’ package of capital investments into energy transition and net zero initiatives.

While last year’s budget was warmly welcomed by the trade association – as was the previous year’s – IESA said on Friday (19 January) that its proposed changes to tax regimes would aid downstream demand creation and encourage domestic companies to play a bigger role in the manufacture and supply of equipment.  

“As the Hon’ble finance minister will soon be leading the Budget Session of the parliament this year, we wish to take this opportunity to draw her kind attention to the industry expectations,” IESA founder and president Dr Rahul Walawalkar said.

“India has a great opportunity to become a global hub for supply chain of advanced battery manufacturing ecosystem.”

What the IESA has recommended:

10-year Tax Holidays: Battery storage projects charging from renewable energy sources either as standalone or hybrid resources, as well as transmission-connected battery storage, should be eligible for tax holidays.

Free trade agreement country imports: Exemptions should be made for customs and excise duties on imported energy storage system (ESS) goods from certain countries, particularly those with which India has free trade agreements.

Uniform Goods and Sales Tax at low rate: A uniform low rate of 5% Goods and Sales Tax (GST) should be applied to all batteries. At present, the rate levied on lithium-ion is 18%. A lowered GST could be “a game changer in facilitating the expansion of large-scale energy storage deployment across the country,” IESA said.

Remove double charging: The bane of energy storage’s existence in many markets – as has been heard many times from Europe’s energy storage industry – and an obvious barrier to investment, is the levying of charges for using the grid twice. IESA said Electricity Duty and Cross Subsidy Surcharges, currently levied when injecting power into the grid and again when consuming (charging) from it. Only the final consumption of electricity should be charged for.

Separately, IESA also called for more direct support to the battery and storage system manufacturing sectors, asking the government to extend the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme programme through which the creation of around 50GWh of advanced cell production lines is being supported. PLI should be doubled to 100GWh, the trade group said.

At the same time, IESA called for duties to be put on imports of cells and supply chain components including raw and processed materials, which it said would be important in enabling domestic producers to become competitive.

IESA also called for other measures including funding for domestic R&D initiatives and the launch of programmes to develop a skilled workforce that could both contribute to the international industry and address skill gaps within India.

IESA executive director Debi Prasad Dash also suggested in a statement that the government consider “ establishing a central institution called the National Institute for Energy Storage to advance India’s R&D roadmap in this sector”.

IESA’s recommendations to finance minister Sitharaman in 2023 also included the Tax Holidays and 5% GST changes. While those asks were ultimately not granted last year, Dr Rahul Walawalkar told Energy-Storage.news in February last year that the alliance was overall “very happy” with the direction of the previous budget in an in-depth interview.

Recent research from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) and JMK Research found that with around 60GW of energy storage likely to be deployed by 2029-2030 in India, storage will be the “major disruptor” of the country’s electricity sector in the coming years. The reported noted that as well as batteries, pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) will play a major role, with competitive tenders the likely route for scaling up deployment.

Energy-Storage.news’ publisher Solar Media will host the 2nd Energy Storage Summit Asia, 9-10 July 2024 in Singapore. The event will help give clarity on this nascent, yet quickly growing market, bringing together a community of credible independent generators, policymakers, banks, funds, off-takers and technology providers. For more information, go to the website.

Continue reading