Fluence initiates manufacturing of battery storage modules in the US

Fluence has started building battery energy storage modules at its facility in Utah, which will incorporate battery cells manufactured in Tennessee.

The move marks a key step in Fluence’s strategy to scale module production with domestically sourced components to meet increasing domestic demand for utility-scale energy storage, the company said in a release.

Fluence initially announced its Utah facility back in 2022. It said the facility will be established in partnership with a local contract manufacturer to better serve regional deliveries and address supply chain constraints that existed at the time, only days before the Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law.

Now, with the import tariffs on non-electric vehicle lithium ion batteries set to rise from 7% to 25% in 2026, as announced earlier in 2024 by the Biden administration, Fluence sees its US-based manufacturing strategy as critical for meeting customer needs in the US.

Before establishing its Utah facility, Fluence assembled all of its energy storage solutions at a contract manufacturing facility in Vietnam. At this year’s Intersolar, Paul McCusker, Fluence President EMEA, told ESS News that Europe is on the cards as the company’s next manufacturing hub. Fluence’s system software is developed in the United States, Germany, and India.

“Our proactive approach to securing U.S.-manufactured battery cells and rapid initiation of module production has provided us with an advantage in delivering a storage solution that allows our customers to capture the Inflation Reduction Act’s domestic content bonus tax credit,” said John Zahurancik, Fluence President, Americas.

Fluence has already delivered products from its Utah production facility. It supplied all enclosures installed at the operational Eleven Mile Solar Center project in Arizona, which features a 300 MW solar plant colocated with a 300 MW battery storage system. The company recently announced an agreement with Excelsior Energy Capital to deploy 2.2 GWh of energy storage projects using domestically manufactured battery systems across the United States, beginning in 2025.

This week, Fluence is displaying its Gridstack Pro 2000 + Gridstack Pro lineup in booth B50038 at RE+ in Anaheim. These energy storage solutions meet domestic content requirements, according to Fluence. In addition, the company is showcasing its Nispera asset performance management software, and Mosaic, an artificial intelligence-powered bidding solution for solar, wind, and energy storage.