I am not going to lie — when I first heard about solar battery storage, I was not overly excited. Because I usually work with our efficiency programs – and communicating how our customers can conserve energy and save money – I was way out of my comfort zone. And I’d missed lunch, so I was cranky. (more…)

Ask Dr. Riccardo Signorelli, CEO of clean-technology company FastCAP Systems, what role the government may have had in getting his business off the ground and his answer is brief.

 “The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act made FastCAP possible,” Signorelli said. “Simple as (more…)

Lithium-ion batteries are everywhere these days. From cellphones to electric cars, they dominate the market for rechargeable devices. One of the main challenges faced by the electric vehicle industry is related to the energy density of electric car batteries. (more…)

In the venture capital community, one hears a great deal about “technology risk.” In my most recent meeting with Ray Lane, Managing Partner at Kleiner Perkins a few months ago, he told me: “We want all technology risk removed before we put more than a few million dollars into a deal.” (more…)

In a previous post, I wrote about patent litigation between Canadian utility Hydro-Quebec (H-Q) and Massachusetts based lithium ion battery maker A123 Systems (A123), in which A123 lost its bid to have its declaratory judgment action litigated in its desired forum of Boston. (more…)

One of the things I enjoy most about shows like Storage Week, sitting through many dozens of presentations on energy storage, is the breadth of perspective on the subject of clean energy. We all know that ultimately, storage is 100% required if we are to achieve the high rates of penetration we’d all like to (more…)

Primus Power is a Hayward, California, startup that makes flow batteries for grid-scale energy storage. A flow battery is a type of rechargeable battery that works by the flow of electrolytes through an electrochemical cell, which converts the chemical energy to electricity. (more…)

Xtreme Power (XP) is a Kyle, Texas, advanced battery maker which provides and operates integrated energy storage and power management systems.

Marketed as the Dynamic Power Resources (DPR) product line, XP’s systems combine energy storage and control capabilities in a modular approach that (more…)

Renewable energy sources like solar and wind only generate electricity when the wind blows or the sun is out and that isn’t always when customers need power. Batteries large enough to hold megawatts of electricity are prohibitively expensive but another potential source of battery storage is fast emerging: electric vehicles. (more…)

Energy storage comes in many shapes and sizes. Pike Research covers six energy storage technologies in depth for its upcoming update to Energy Storage on the Grid alone and includes discussions on many more emerging technologies. The variety of technologies is matched only by the variety of applications – up to 17 by EPRI’s count. In the (more…)