HiNa Battery has signed a five-year agreement with Volta Co. of South Korea to supply 10 GWh of sodium-ion batteries, up from an initial 15 MWh program, and is one of China's early commercial developers of sodium-ion batteries. The company will provide cell technology and manufacturing capacity, while Volta will lead system integration and market development in South Korea. A technical verification partner, Kwangwoon University, will support the arrangement with research and testing assistance.
Module manufacturers such as JA Solar are making money in Europe despite manufacturing oversupply, which pressures prices downward due to abundant supply of modules. The company's new VP for Europe notes that there is an undersupply of high-efficiency TOPCon 3.0 and back-contact modules, leading to a limited production capacity. This is largely due to the significant investment required for the machinery needed to produce these advanced module technologies.
Great Power successfully completed a full-scale fire test with its Max-20HC-5000 DC liquid-cooling container energy storage solution, which featured a rated energy capacity of 5 MWh. The test, conducted under demanding conditions, demonstrated that the system's design effectively contained thermal runaway and prevented fire propagation to adjacent containers or structures. The fire self-extinguished after 16 hours, indicating the effectiveness of the thermal isolation design.
The maturity of the battery storage industry is bringing increased pressure to improve efficiency as asset owners are leaving money on the table by not maximizing their returns. Efficiency will be crucial for the growth of battery storage in meeting the demands of next-generation electric grids. As competition grows, asset owners must prioritize efficiency to remain competitive.
Jordan's Energy and Minerals Regulatory Commission has issued 200 approvals for renewable energy installations under new grid-connection rules. The first 200 approvals cover various consumer categories, including residential installations and military personnel applications, and were granted after changes to Jordan's Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Law came into effect. The revised framework aims to accommodate growing demand for distributed renewables while managing available grid capacity.
Aukera has secured a €460 million ($534.23 million) structured credit facility to accelerate its renewable energy and battery storage projects across five European markets, with the goal of advancing its project pipeline.
EPC Renewables and Energy Fiji Limited have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop the 240MWh Yaqara Solar & Battery Project, a solar-plus-storage site. The project aims to provide renewable energy to the Pacific island nation of Fiji. No construction timeline or completion date has been specified.
A Virginia school district is pioneering solar and battery microgrids to better prepare for extreme weather events, allowing it to maintain power during outages. The district's efforts are part of a growing trend nationwide as communities seek resilience in the face of climate change. Solar-powered energy systems will provide power autonomy for the schools' facilities.
Haffner Energy's pilot-stage technology, SYNOCA C-iC, has secured a €30 million deal with OroCarbo to set up 12 units across California, Oregon, and Washington, aiming to create renewable hydrogen and power hubs. Biomass-to-hydrogen technology is making the leap from labs to tangible projects, thanks in part to the CORE100 program, which allows OroCarbo to reserve capacity for these units. The partnership aims to deliver stable, low-carbon hydrogen and electricity to remote areas on the West Coast.
High-voltage grid equipment supply is under pressure due to a combination of factors including long lead times for bushing components (two-year minimum) and increasing demand from hyperscalers, with the US 765-kV expansion and data center growth further straining supply chains. The manufacturing industry's expansion also contributes to the shortage, particularly in critical components such as instrument-transformer equipment. Utilities, transmission developers, and original equipment manufacturers are competing for a limited pool of high-voltage gear.
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