Pekat Group Bhd, through its subsidiary Pentas RE Sdn Bhd, has signed a 21-year Power Purchase Agreement for a solar and battery storage project in Kuantan, Pahang. The 25MWac solar facility combined with a 40MWh battery highlights Pekat's commitment to renewable energy, offering economic and environmental benefits while supporting Malaysia's energy transition.

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US sodium-ion (Na-ion) battery technology company Unigrid has begun international shipments of its proprietary sodium cobalt oxide (NCO) cathode cells at commercial volume.

Ahead of the Energy Storage Summit Australia 2026 in March, we take a look at some of the key debates set to take centre stage at the event.  

The Finnish start-up says its sand battery technology is scalable from 20 to 500 MWh with charging power from 1 to 20 MW, depending on industrial needs.

From ESS News

Finnish cleantech startup TheStorage says that its thermal storage technology could reduce industrial energy costs by up to 70% and cut carbon emissions by as much as 90%. The system converts renewable electricity into heat, stores it in sand, and delivers it on-demand for industrial heating.

The concept emerged in Finland in 2023, with engineering work beginning in 2024. In January 2026, TheStorage installed its first industrial-scale pilot at a brewery, putting the technology to the test in a real-world setting. There, it produces fossil-free steam for the brewery’s production lines.

“Producing steam without fossil fuels is a major step toward carbon-neutral production,” says Vesa Peltola, Production Director of the brewery.

TheStorage’s technology captures electricity when it is abundant and inexpensive, converts it into high-temperature heat, and stores it in sand. This stored heat can later be used in industrial processes independently of real-time electricity availability.

To continue reading, please visit our ESS News website.

Cubenergy has launched FlexCombo 2.0, a scalable battery energy storage system for utility, commercial, and industrial applications, offering up to 16 MWh capacity with LFP batteries. Its modular design, advanced BMS, and cloud-based operations enable easy installation, seamless expansion, and efficient grid integration, according to the manufacturer.

Cubenergy, a Chinese manufacturer of battery energy storage systems (BESS), has introduced a new energy block designed for utility, commercial, and industrial (C&I) applications.

The product, named FlexCombo 2.0, uses the company’s 835 kWh FlexCombo D2 batteries. It is available in three configurations: 10, 12, or 12 batteries, providing a total capacity of 8 MWh, 10 MWh, or 16 MWh, respectively.

“With the FlexCombo D2 modular design and parallel architecture, FlexCombo’s core advantage lies in its long-term scalability,” the company said in a statement. “It enables seamless capacity growth and effortless integration with power generation systems (PGS), simplifying deployment and accelerating delivery for ultimate flexibility.”

The FlexCombo D2 batteries feature lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistry, offering a lifespan of 8,000 cycles at 70% capacity retention, according to the manufacturer.

Each battery measures 2 m x 1.68 m x 2.55 m and has a weight of up to eight tons. They carry an IP55 protection rating. Each block also comes with a power conversion system (PCS) rated at 430 kW AC with an IP66 protection grade. Optional medium-voltage (MV) transformers are available, with AC power ratings of either 8,800 kVA or 5,250 kVA.

“The FlexCombo 2.0 is designed primarily for utility and C&I applications, including renewable energy arbitrage, stand-alone grid stabilization, factories, and commercial buildings,” the company stated. “This integrated, easy-to-install BESS can be quickly connected and aligned with project requirements, while the advanced Active Balancing battery management system (BMS) and cloud-based operations provide a superior user experience.”

The new Tesla Solar Panel and mounting system pairs with the company’s inverter, Powerwall battery, EV charging and vehicles, creating an all-Tesla residential solar offering for the first time.

From pv magazine USA

In the residential solar sector, the industry has long sought the “holy grail” of vertical integration, creating a single point of contact for hardware, software, and energy management.

While Tesla has been a dominant player in storage with the Powerwall, a market leader with its inverter, and in electric vehicles, the company has historically relied on third-party solar panels.

With the launch of the Tesla Solar Panel (TSP-415 and TSP-420), the company is closing that loop. The company’s new modules, assembled at its Gigafactory in Buffalo, New York, represent a significant shift toward a proprietary, integrated ecosystem designed to solve the common rooftop challenges of shading, aesthetic clutter, and installation friction.

“This panel completes the full package of the residential energy ecosystem,” Colby Hastings, senior director, Tesla Energy, told pv magazine USA. “It is based on our long history of innovation and engineering when it comes to solar.”

Domestic manufacturing

Tesla said the new modules are assembled at its Buffalo, NY facility, the same site where it continues to produce Solar Roof components, which inspired the design of the panel. The factory is currently scaling to an initial capacity of over 300 MW per year.

This domestic assembly allows Tesla to leverage federal manufacturing incentives while securing a local supply chain for its growing network of installers.

Power zones

The most technically significant departure from industry norms in the TSP series is the implementation of 18 independent “Power Zones.” Standard residential modules typically utilize three bypass diodes, creating six distinct zones. In traditional architectures, a single shadow from a chimney or vent pipe can effectively “shut down” large swaths of a string’s production.

Tesla’s design essentially triples the granularity of the module. By dividing the electrical architecture into 18 zones, the panel behaves more like a digital screen with a higher pixel count; if one “pixel” is shaded, the remaining 17 continue to harvest energy at near-peak efficiency.

While high-density substring architectures have been explored in the utility space, Tesla’s specific 18-zone layout is unique to the residential market, engineered to deliver optimizer-like performance without the added cost and potential failure points of module-level power electronics (MLPE) on the roof.

Inverters, batteries, and mounts

The TSP modules are designed to pair specifically with the Tesla Solar Inverter and Powerwall 3. While Tesla offers these as a unified “Home Energy Ecosystem,” they are not strictly sold as a single, inseparable bundle. However, the hardware is optimized to work as a package; for instance, the panel’s 18-zone design is specifically tuned to perform with Tesla’s string inverter technology.

Tesla is not keeping this technology exclusive to its own crews. While Tesla’s direct installation business leads the rollout, the package is available to Tesla’s network of over 1,000 certified installers.

This “installer-first” approach is further evidenced by the new Tesla Panel Mount. The new rail-less mounting system, made of black anodized aluminum alloy, uses the module frame itself as the structural rail.

By eliminating traditional rails and visible clamps, Tesla said the system is 33% faster to install. The mount sits closer to the roof and is enhanced by aesthetic front and side skirts, maintaining the “minimalist” look Tesla consumers expect.

Product specs

The modules are competitive with the current Tier 1 market, pushing into the 20% efficiency bracket while maintaining a robust mechanical profile, said the company.

Parameter	TSP-415	TSP-420
Nominal Power (Pmax)	415 W	420 W
Module Efficiency	20.3%	20.5%
Open Circuit Voltage (Voc)	40.92 V	40.95 V
Short Circuit Current (Isc)	12.93 A	13.03 A
Max System Voltage	DC 1000V	DC 1000V
Weight	22.3 kg (49 lbs.)	22.3 kg (49 lbs.)
Dimensions	1805 x 1135 x 40 mm	1805 x 1135 x 40 mm

 The new Tesla Solar Panels are now available nationwide. 

Solar roof 

For those wondering about the Tesla Solar Roof, the company maintains that the glass tile product remains a core part of its “premium” offering for customers needing a full roof replacement.

The cascading cell technology used in the new TSP modules, which overlaps cells to eliminate visible silver busbars, was originally designed in its Solar Roof product. Tesla is essentially taking the aesthetic and electrical innovations of its luxury roof product and integrating it into a traditional module form factor.

Virtual power plant

Tesla also highlighted the ability for virtual power plant (VPP) participation to increase value for its customers. VPPs coordinate the dispatch of energy stored in Powerwalls, acting as a distributed energy network. 

“We’re working more closely with utilities than ever to ensure that these assets participate in virtual power plants and support the grid and opening up new value streams, both for utilities and consumers that have these assets at home,” said Hastings. “We announced recently that we have a million Powerwalls deployed worldwide and 25% of those are enrolled in a virtual power plant program of some kind.”

Market strategy

The timing of this launch comes at a volatile moment for U.S. solar. With the passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act (OBBBA), the industry is navigating the early expiration of the 25D residential credit at the end of 2025 and the sunsetting of the 48E commercial credit.

Tesla’s move now is an opportunistic play for standardization and soft-cost reduction. By controlling the entire stack, Tesla can drive down customer acquisition and labor costs, which currently represent the largest portion of a system’s price tag.

“Utility rates across the country are going up, electricity is becoming increasingly unaffordable for homeowners,” said Hastings. “We’re still very bullish on the future of distributed energy here in the United States.”

Sungrow is introducing its large-scale energy storage system, PowerTitan 3.0, to Europe, featuring grid-forming capability, next-generation battery cells, DC coupling for co-located solar projects, and streamlined commissioning to accelerate deployment.

Sungrow is introducing its large-scale energy storage system, PowerTitan 3.0, to the European market. With the option to connect the battery to a central inverter on the DC side, the company is responding to strong demand for co-located solar-storage projects. The system was first presented at SNEC in Shanghai in June 2025 and has now been showcased to European developers at an event in Madrid.

The storage system is available in standard 10- and 20-foot container formats. The 20-foot version integrates a 1.78 MW power conversion system (PCS) with a 7.14 MWh battery, providing four hours of storage in a single container. A 30-foot version with roughly 12 MWh, also displayed in China, will not be offered in Europe due to logistics and transport costs, which could reduce project profitability. Larger systems in Europe can be achieved by connecting four units to form an AC block with approximately 7.2 MW of power and 28.5 MWh of capacity.

The higher energy density is enabled by new 648 Ah battery cells, with a volumetric energy density exceeding 440 Wh/L. A full liquid-cooling system and updated software maintain all cells within their optimal temperature range, reducing the system’s own energy consumption by around 10%, according to Sungrow. The company guarantees 10,000 cycles at 60% remaining capacity. State of charge is monitored at the rack level and synchronized across the system.

“We are seeing growing demand for stand-alone projects and a significant increase in co-location projects across Europe,” said Moritz Rolf, VP DACH at Sungrow. The DC coupling option is key to meeting this demand.

Paired with a PV system and Sungrow’s “1+X” central inverter, no separate PCS or medium-voltage switchgear is needed. The company estimates hardware and cabling savings for a 150 MWh project at around €1 million.

When connected on the AC side, the system includes an integrated PCS using silicon carbide MOSFETs. Maximum PCS efficiency is 99.5%, with a round-trip efficiency of 92%.

Fast commissioning

The PowerTitan 3.0 is delivered fully assembled and pre-configured. Commissioning is largely autonomous, taking about one hour per unit. A project can be connected to the grid in approximately 12 days, with no on-site parameterization required.

The system can also serve as an AC power source for plant certification tests. If a grid connection is not yet available, the battery can energize medium-voltage switchgear, inverters, and other equipment, simplifying logistics for commissioning and testing.

“Having completed the first stage of the energy transition—the expansion of renewables and their market integration—we are now entering the next phase: electrification, flexibility, and supply security,” said James Li, VP Europe of Sungrow, during a panel discussion.

Grid-forming capabilities were a central theme of the presentation. The system can provide short-circuit current with a ratio of 1.2, deliver instantaneous reserve power within five milliseconds, and contribute to harmonic attenuation, supporting grid strength and stability.

Antonio Arruebo, battery storage analyst at SolarPower Europe, highlighted the growing importance of these functions. Beyond frequency services, markets for instantaneous reserve, short-circuit current, and black-start capability are emerging across Europe. He stressed the need for early development of corresponding markets at EU and national levels, faster approval and certification processes for storage systems, and reduction of duplicate grid fees.

Key challenges

Discussions with event participants highlighted that, while the European battery storage market is developing positively overall, project financing remains a critical bottleneck. Highly leveraged projects are subject to intensive risk assessments by lenders, particularly regarding the valuation of future revenues from arbitrage and frequency markets. The long-term development of these markets is difficult to predict, directly affecting risk premiums and financing terms. Multi-bank financing structures appear to be becoming increasingly common.

From an investor perspective, the stability of revenue streams and technological risks are central. “The crucial factors are the resilience of the revenues and the likelihood of market mechanisms changing over time,” said Paula Renedo, Principal Engineer Director at Nuveen Infrastructure, during a panel discussion.

For battery storage, the balance between exposure to the stock market and contractually secured revenues is evolving. Creditworthiness of customers and technological reliability are gaining greater importance. “We look closely at proven technologies with robust operational experience, particularly regarding availability and degradation over the system’s lifespan,” Renedo added. Nuveen adopts conservative assumptions and engages external technical consultants to assess and mitigate these risks.

On pricing trends in the battery segment, and the Chinese government’s announcement requiring battery cell manufacturers to adopt “sustainable pricing,” Moritz Rolf noted that comparisons with recent photovoltaic module price trends are limited. PV modules have reached a high degree of commodification, whereas integrated large-scale storage systems involve numerous complex integration steps. As a result, prices equivalent to fractions of a cent per kilowatt, as seen in the module market, are not expected. After-sales service and local support remain critical for developers and operators. Sungrow currently employs around 800 people in Europe.

The Dutch start-up, founded by former Tesla leaders, is taking a novel approach to sodium-ion battery technology, optimizing it for integration with solar power plants. Its technology is set to be deployed for the first time in a Dutch solar-plus-storage project later this year.

From ESS News

Amsterdam-based Moonwatt has developed a new type of battery storage system based on sodium-ion NFPP chemistry, purpose-built for seamless solar hybridization. The system integrates battery enclosures with hybrid string inverters, enabling efficient DC-coupled solar-plus-storage integration.

The company gained attention in March 2025 when it raised $8.3 million in seed funding to accelerate growth. Moonwatt operates as an energy storage system integrator, designing, developing, and supplying string battery enclosures, hybrid string inverters, and battery management and site control systems, while sourcing sodium-ion cells globally.

“Initially, we’re sourcing them from Asia, but we aim to add American and European cell sourcing options as soon as they become available and create value for our customers,” Valentin Rota, co-founder and CCO of Moonwatt, said in an earlier interview with ESS News.

To continue reading, please visit our ESS News website.

For the last 12 weeks, California startup Rondo Energy has been operating what it’s calling the world’s largest thermal battery. Rondo’s system converts cheap renewable electricity into heat that can be discharged on demand into industrial processes.

This differs from most next-generation energy-storage strategies, which provide electricity to grids in the absence of sun or wind. Instead, Rondo’s system aims to help decarbonize emissions-heavy sectors like steelmaking and cement.

The system works like a toaster crossed with a blast furnace. Electricity from solar arrays heat iron wires similar to those in a toaster oven. These warm hundreds of tonnes of refractory bricks to temperatures up to 1,500 °C. After four to six hours of charging a day, the heat can be discharged as air or steam, without combustion or emissions.

To discharge heat, a circulating air blower is turned on, pushing air up through the brick stack and heating it to over 1,000 °C before releasing it through an outlet. The heat-delivery rate can be controlled by adjusting the airflow. The battery can discharge steam instead of heat by injecting water into an attached chamber, which the heated air passes through before leaving the battery through the outlet.

The real challenge in thermal energy storage is not storing heat; it’s being able to charge rapidly and then deliver heat continuously at the same temperature, says John O’Donnell, Rondo Energy’s chief innovation officer. The structure of Rondo’s heat battery, which O’Donnell describes as “a 3D-checkerboard of brick and open chambers,” keeps temperatures uniform and enables rapid charging. “We can turn charging circuits on and off as fast as you can turn your toaster on and off,” O’Donnell says. “So we can be agile.”

In Rondo’s first project, its 100-megawatt-hour battery is supplying heat for an enhanced oil-recovery facility operated by Holmes Western Oil Corp. in Kern County, Calif. The battery, which is about the size of a small office building, is powered by an off-grid, 20-megawatt solar array built for this purpose. It converts the clean electricity into heat, and then generates steam that is injected into oil wells, heating the oil so that it thins out and flows more easily, increasing production.

Holmes Western Oil previously accomplished this with a gas-fired boiler. Cutting it will save Holmes just under 13,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually while also lowering costs, according to Rondo. “Making steam for oil fields is the second largest portion of industrial heat in the state,” says O’Donnell.

Rondo’s choice to deploy its first commercial-scale, emissions-reducing battery for the extraction of a fossil fuel stirred some controversy. Critics argue that deploying clean tech to improve or prolong fossil fuel production is counterproductive.

Thermal Batteries for Clean Industrial Heat

Several other companies are developing thermal batteries with industrial heat applications. Antora Energy makes modular carbon-block heat batteries that can reach over 1,500 °C and are being deployed at pilot industrial sites. EnergyNest is doing early commercial installations of its concrete-based thermal modules, and is partnering with Siemens Energy to scale across Europe. Calectra’s ultrahigh-temperature systems are in the pilot phase, and EarthEn Energy launched its modular low-temperature heat batteries in July.

These companies are focused on heat because it’s central to producing staples such as steel, cement, food, and chemicals. Many of these manufacturing processes run continuously and maintain high temperatures for weeks or months at a time, ranging from 72 °C for pasteurizing milk to over 1,000 °C for making steel or cement.

The cheapest, most efficient way to produce consistent heat has long been with fossil fuels; nothing burns as slow and hot as coal or natural gas. Their energy density, reliability, and low cost have made them hard to replace. However, industrial heat accounts for about 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions and more than 20 percent of global energy consumption. So innovators aiming to decarbonize these industrial sectors have their work cut out for them.

But solar power is getting cheaper. In 2024, California’s solar fields generated almost as much electricity as its gas plants. “Because of what the wind and solar industry have done, we now have intermittent grid prices that are cheaper than fuel in a lot of places in the world,” says O’Donnell. Some locations generate so much clean power that the grid can’t absorb it all, forcing negative electricity prices for a few hours a day.

How Can Thermal Batteries Scale?

Thermal batteries supplying heat face several challenges. In order for them to scale up, industrial customers must buy renewable electricity wholesale at times of day when it’s cheap, which requires dynamic real-time pricing. Many states only allow industrial customers to buy power at fixed daily rates. “We are really eager to see the regulatory framework get modernized,” O’Donnell says.

The price of natural gas plays a role, too. It’s relatively inexpensive in the United States, thanks to shale gas from fracking, but if its price increases due to exports or other factors, batteries like Rondo’s could become a cheaper source of heat. This is already the case in European countries such as Germany, where the price of natural gas has skyrocketed in the last three and a half years.

Plus, heat batteries could be difficult to integrate into existing industrial infrastructure. Not every facility has space for a battery the size of an office building and a dedicated solar array. The batteries’ high up-front costs and the fact that they’re still a largely unproven technology will make some would-be customers reluctant to give them a try.

Nonetheless, heat batteries like Rondo’s are a promising solution for decarbonizing the industrial sector. “The thermal-storage market is absolutely capable of accelerating to create meaningful impact,” says Blaine Collison, executive director of the Renewable Thermal Collaborative, a coalition focused on decarbonizing thermal energy. “When I look at some of the fundamental characteristics of the technology—relatively straightforward materials, ability to offtake renewable electricity, modularity—I see scale.”

This article was updated on October 31, 2025.

The design of the high-voltage substation must include consideration for the safe operation and maintenance of the secondary equipment. The substation secondary systems are those systems which provide the functionality necessary to ensure safety of personnel engaged in operation of... Read more

The post Practical Precautions for Substation Secondary Equipment appeared first on EEP - Electrical Engineering Portal.

Conceived for stationary energy storage, the proposed sodium-ion battery configuration relies on an P2-type cathode material and an hard carbon anode material that reportedly ensure full-cell performance. Electrochemical testing revealed initial capacities of 200 mAh/g for the cathode and 360 mAh/g for the anode with capacity retentions of 42% and 67.4% after 100 cycles.

An international research team has designed a sodium-ion battery (SIB) storage system based on a P2-type cathode material known as Na0.67Mn0.33Ni0.33Fe0.33O2 and an anode relying on a hard carbon material fabricated from lavender flowers.

The proposed system configuration is intended for low-cost fabrication while ensuring scalability and environmental sustainability, as the two electrode materials are described as “widely accessible” precursors.

“Plant diversity and production capacity are important factors affecting the commercialization of SIBs, as plant-derived hard carbons s are both sustainable and economical,” the researchers explained. “Hard carbon derived from plants preserves the microstructures of the plant tissues, thereby enhancing the penetration of the electrolyte and sodium diffusivity.

The scientists estimated global lavender production at approximately 1,000–1,500 tons annually. However, only a small fraction of this production can be used for electrode materials, as only the flower residue is suitable for conversion into hard carbon.

They also noted that the hard carbon anode and P2-type cathode in the full cell have insufficient sodium reservoirs, leading to poor electrochemical performance. “The present work addresses this gap by evaluating the full-cell performance of P2-Na_0.67Mn_0.9Ni_0.1O₂ coupled with lavender flower waste-derived hard carbon under different presodiation approaches,” they further explained.

The scientists used X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Raman spectroscopy to characterized the SIB system's cathode and anode and found the cathode has an hexagonal P63/mmc structure, while the anode showed characteristic broad peaks of amorphous carbon.

SEM and TEM revealed, in particular, micrometer-sized cathode grains and a porous hard carbon surface, with EDS and XPS indicated the material has good structural stability. Further analysis also demonstrated that nickel (Ni) incorporation improved the cathode’s structural, electronic, and electrochemical performance.

Moreover, electrochemical testing revealed initial capacities of 200 mAh/g for the cathode and 360 mAh/g for the anode with capacity retentions of 42% and 67.4% after 100 cycles. Overall, Ni doping was found to improve the cathode’s conductivity and stability, and the anode demonstrated good sodium storage performance, supporting strong half-cell and potential full-cell performance, according to the researchers.

“This comprehensive study highlights the potential for developing SIBs with low-cost and sustainable electrode materials,” they concluded. “The optimization of presodiation strategies offers an opportunity for advanced commercial and scalable SIB technologies.”

The system was described in the study “Cost-effective sodium-ion batteries using a Na_0.67Mn_0.9Ni_0.1O₂ cathode and lavender-flower-waste-derived hard carbon with a comparative presodiation approach,” published in the Journal of Power Sources. The research team comprised scientists from Turkey's Inonu University, Istanbul Technical University, Malatya Turgut Ozal University and Aksaray University, as well as from Korea Institute of Science and Technology and Pakistan's Quaid-i-Azam University, among others. 

Australian mining giant Fortescue has claimed to have secured large-scale battery storage at pricing levels not previously seen in Australia, according to CEO Dino Otranto.

Covestro and startup Rondo Energy have broken ground on a 100MWh TES system at Covestro's Brunsbüttel chemical site in Germany.

FranklinWH and ConnectDER have had their respective battery and electric meter technologies enrolled into programmes in Arizona expected to accelerate the take-up of home batteries for virtual power plants (VPPs).

Australian thermal energy storage company 1414 Degrees has received critical regulatory approval from AEMO for its 140MW Aurora BESS.

Duke Energy, Elevate Renewables, and Fluence Energy, along with BrightNight and Cordelio Power, are advancing BESS projects across the BESS.

San Diego-based home battery storage company NeoVolta has formed NeoVolta Power, a joint venture (JV) to develop a US battery energy storage system (BESS) manufacturing platform in Pendergrass, Georgia.

BlackRock-backed developer Akaysha Energy is reportedly considering options to raise additional funds, including selling a minority stake, to support the expansion of its battery energy storage operations.

While coal and gas power plants grapple with cost increases, Australia's battery storage sector delivers a different story, with costs plummeting across all durations.

Energy-Storage.news Premium speaks with Phil Tonkin, field chief technology officer at Dragos, and Dr. Peter Fox-Penner, a Brattle principal, on BESS cybersecurity.