Natron Energy, developer of sodium-ion batteries, raises $35M as investment in storage surges
The startup is building a battery using Prussian blue analogue electrodes and a sodium-ion electrolyte. Investors include ABB Technology Ventures, NanoDimension Capital, Volta Energy Technologies, Chevron, Khosla Ventures, and Prelude Ventures.
Sunrun to acquire Vivint Solar for $3.2 billion in all-stock transaction
The new, bigger Sunrun will have 500,000 customers and more than 3 GW of solar power assets. Is there value in scale in residential solar?
Solar and storage venture capital and finance roundup
Plus a bunch of investments in carbon capture.
Morning Brief: Duke, Dominion abandon pipeline, Berkshire Hathaway buys $10B of gas assets from Dominion
Also in the brief: Tepco to reuse Chinese EV batteries for energy storage, end of Chinese dam-building era,
NREL study backs hydrogen for long-duration storage
Pumped hydro and compressed air energy storage will soon be cost-effective for day-long storage, while hydrogen for long-duration storage will be cost-effective by 2050 or sooner, the national lab’s study projected.
More utilities bypassing natural gas bridge and going straight to renewables
Utilities that are transitioning away from coal are starting to view the creation of a natural gas “bridge” to renewable energy as an unnecessary step.
Morning Brief: Navajo Transitional Energy proposes 200 MW of Solar, Florida adds 150 MW
Also in the brief: battery energy storage is getting cheaper, but how much deployment is too much? GCube Insurance is issuing a renewed warning to renewable energy asset owners about cyberattacks, REC Group’s flagship REC Alpha solar panel has won the Intersolar Award 2020 for photovoltaics, and more.
Morning Brief: Tucson Electric Power aims to add 1.4 GW of storage, Standard Solar secures $105 million
Also in the brief: Bank of America signs its first PPA, CS Energy has completed a 33 MW portfolio of solar projects in Texas, RP Construction Services and RECON partner to build tracker projects and more
What’s going on in the world of thermal energy storage?
Can this technology be commercialized? A partnership between Siemens Energy and EnergyNest to develop thermal storage solutions together is the latest development in an industry with lots of potential, but little practical application thus far.
Funding for solar inspection by drone, long-duration energy storage, and software for utilities
A roundup of recent funding in renewable energy and cleantech: Quidnet, DroneBase, Eos Energy, Urjanet, and Clir Renewables.
