Fourth Power, backed by Bill Gates’ venture firm, has developed high-density thermal energy storage based on thermophotovoltaic cells. The tech, which is reportedly 10 times cheaper than lithium-ion batteries, is based on the U.S. company’s patented liquid metal heat transfer system.

Transformer shortages are taking their toll on battery energy storage system (BESS) integrators, as competition in the market intensifies.

Energy storage with more than four hours of duration could assume a key role in integrating renewable energy into the U.S. power grid on the back of a potential shift to net winter demand peaks, says the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

Researchers in the US have demonstrated that replacing the planar lithium anode in a redox mediated lithium-sulfur redox flow battery with a high surface area scaffold enables 10 times faster cycling, up to 10 mA cm−2, without short circuit or voltage instability.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed a scalable bulk energy storage solution with chemical with inexpensive, abundant precursors: cement, water, and carbon black. Their supercapacitors have high storage capacity, high-rate charge-discharge capabilities, and structural strength.

Georgia Institute of Technology researchers used aluminum foil-based negative electrodes with engineered microstructures in an all-solid-state lithium-ion cell configuration. They have reported hundreds of stable cycles with practically relevant areal capacities at high current densities.

Nuvola Technology says it has developed a direct deposition polymer separator technology that can eliminate the primary cause of lithium-ion battery fires.

First Solar has agreed to pay $38 million to buy Swedish manufacturing startup Evolar AB, as it seeks to expand development of high-efficiency tandem PV tech.

Sono Motors, a solar electric-vehicle manufacturer in Germany, has terminated its Sion passenger car development program, as it has failed to secure enough funding to support pre-series production. It says it will now focus exclusively on retrofitting and integrating its patented solar technology into third-party vehicles.

A scalable thermal energy storage prototype system that combines the best latent and sensible heat transfers is now market-ready after three years of testing. It consists of engineered cementitious materials and thermosiphons in a combination that enables fast, efficient thermal performance at low cost.