Author
Jonathan Gifford
Jonathan is currently contributing as a freelance editor at pv magazine and ESS News.
He joined pv magazine in 2011, became the Editor in Chief in 2014, and was the Founding Editor of pv magazine Australia. With a background in public broadcasting, Jonathan has been reporting on environmental and technology issues since 2005.
Advertisement
Articles written by Jonathan Gifford
Australian government push for community electrification met with renewed calls for federal residential battery subsidy
With the Australian federal government increasing efforts to support community electrification programs, industry bodies have responded with renewed calls for a national program to accelerate residential battery uptake. The Smart Energy Council said that, as a federal election campaign looms, a battery support scheme could be promised and implemented quickly, delivering a “win for hip pockets.”
Jan 30, 2025
S&P Global: Annual battery cell production passes 10 billion, lower prices to stimulate demand
While oversupply remains a feature of the lithium-ion battery production landscape, large production volumes are accelerating innovation and enhancing energy storage competitiveness. S&P Global analysis reveals that balance is likely to return to the global market in the coming years as stationary energy storage and EV adoption continues to accelerate.
CEA: Trade barriers set to see U.S. BESS prices increase 35% in 2025
2025 is likely to see battery prices surge in the United States on the back of increases in tariffs and duties imposed on battery energy storage systems and their components from China. While lithium iron phosphate (LFP) capacity is being established outside of China, few options exist today to dodge costs of increasing tariffs.
Advertisement
Schmid Pekintaş targets redox flow battery cost reduction with new Turkish gigafactory
Production equipment supplier Schmid is expanding its joint venture with the Pekintaş Group to establish a vanadium redox flow battery production facility with an output of 3 GWh. The factory is scheduled to begin production in 2026.
Australian utility-scale battery deployment surges past solar, wind – falls short of requirements
Big BESS is booming Down Under, with almost 5 GW of projects under construction in 2024, according to Rystad Energy. While encouraging, the analyst reports that the volume remains insufficient to overcome growing rates of renewable curtailment. “We have around 3 GW operational at the moment, but about half of that is still in commissioning. So you still only have 1.5 GW on the market where the average load is 23 GW,” Rystad Energy’s David Dixon tells ESS News.
BloombergNEF: Stationary storage installations surge to 170 GWh in 2024
With expanding market opportunities and declining costs stationary battery energy storage installations are surging. Battery makers are awake to the opportunity, reports BloombergNEF, as stationary batteries account for an increasing amount of deployed capacity.
Advertisement
Australia’s big battery bonanza
The volume of large-scale battery energy storage projects under construction in Australia passed that of solar and wind projects combined in 2023 and the trend has intensified this year, with batteries attracting federal support. As coal-fired power plants are shuttered, developers and suppliers are enjoying a battery bonanza.