Batteries & Energy Storage news and discussions

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Germany: Multi-billion dollar energy hub planned with co-located solar and up to 2.8 GWh storage, plus AI data center

A new project in Germany will see the phased installation of a massive 500 MW / 1750 MWh battery energy storage system, and a new AI data center, all set to be developed by 2028.

Aug 14, 2025

Major plans are underway in the Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, with preparations for the ambitious “Weida-Land Energy Network” moving forward at full pace.

According to Greenmake, a developer involved in the project, the combination of an AI data center, large-scale battery storage, and local solar farms will create a self-contained regional energy ecosystem. “Electricity is used where it is generated,” the company states, explaining that the project “strengthens supply security, creates jobs, secures tax revenues, and makes the region more energy independent.”

So what are the specifics? Michael Krieger, a communications lead for the project, explained that “the Weida-Land solar cluster includes several solar parks across different local communities.” The goal is to install approximately 500 MW of photovoltaic capacity in phases by 2028, coinciding with the commissioning of a new electrical substation.

At the heart of the project is a major battery energy storage system (BESS) in the town of Schraplau, designed for staged expansion. The first phase, slated for completion by 2028, will feature a 500 MW / 1750 MWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) system. According to the plans, this BESS will connect directly to the grid at the new Schraplau-Obhausen substation. A final expansion by 2035 aims to boost its capacity to an immense 800 MW / 2800 MWh or 2.8 GWh.

“The system will provide essential grid services, contributing to the stabilization and flexibility of the regional energy supply,” says Krieger. He notes that the battery will be grid-forming, capable of providing synthetic inertia and voltage support. Crucially, its black-start capability will allow it to energize the grid independently after an outage, significantly boosting regional energy resilience.

https://www.ess-news.com/2025/08/14/ger ... ta-center/

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Fast-charging solid-state power bank promises not to burst into flames
By Abhimanyu Ghoshal
August 18, 2025s

There's a lot to love about the conventional lithium-ion batteries we use in our gadgets and electric cars, but they still pose a fire hazard because of the flammable liquid electrolyte inside.

Solid-state batteries have an edge over them, thanks to the use of a (mostly) solid electrolyte sandwiched between the cathode and anode.

Hardware upstart BMX is taking a stab at packing this tech into a power bank that can juice up your phone anywhere you go, without the chance of self-combusting. With a solid state battery, you don't have to worry about thermal runaway incidents that can cause it to swell, explode, or catch fire.

https://newatlas.com/mobile-technology/ ... ower-bank/

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The world's largest sand battery just went live in Finland
By Abhimanyu Ghoshal
August 27, 2025
https://newatlas.com/energy/largest-san ... pornainen/

Finland has inaugurated an industrial-scale sand battery this week in the southern town of Pornainen, where it'll take over heating duties from an old woodchip power plant for the municipality. It's set to reduce carbon emissions from the local heating network by as much as 70%, and is the largest one of its kind in the world.

Developed by Finnish Firm Polar Night Energy – which also built the world's first commercial sand battery a few years ago – this battery is about 42 ft (13 m) tall and 50 ft (15 m) wide. It serves as a storage medium for up to 100 MWh, with a round trip efficiency of 90%. That makes it about 10 times larger than the first-ever sand battery, and capable of storing enough heat for the whole town to use for a week.

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MIT's concrete battery just got 10 times more powerful
By Abhimanyu Ghoshal
October 02, 2025

Scientists have been working for the last few years on enhancing concrete – arguably the most common construction material on the planet – to store energy. That includes researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), who found a way to combine cement, water, and carbon black to create a 'supercapacitor' for this purpose back in 2023.

They've now expanded the storage capacity by nearly 10 times, which means we're inching closer to concrete doubling as building-sized batteries.

This electron-conducting carbon concrete, or ec3 (pronounced "e-c-cubed") can hold enough energy to meet the daily needs of an average home in just 5 cubic meters, or about the volume of a typical basement wall.

That's down from 45 cubic meters that the previous version of this multifunctional material would have occupied to store the same amount of energy in 2023. Another way to look at it is, a cubic meter of this updated ec3 – roughly the size of a refrigerator – can store over 2 kWh of energy, which is enough to run an actual refrigerator for a day.

https://newatlas.com/energy/mit-concret ... capacitor/

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How mega batteries are unlocking an energy revolution

Vast battery units are shoring up grids and extending the use of clean power

5 hours ago

As the evening drew in on a sweltering mid-August day in 2020, California’s strained electricity grid buckled. Amid an intense heatwave, surging power demand — amplified by soaring air conditioning use — forced the state’s grid operator to initiate two days of rolling blackouts. An inability to meet demand during the evening peak led to more than 800,000 homes losing power for up to two and a half hours.

It was the first outage of its kind in California in almost 20 years — and raised questions about the state’s reliance on intermittent renewable energy.

The fallout has spurred a boom in mega battery development. Enabled by state policies, California’s battery storage capacity has more than tripled to 13GW of power, with plans to add another 8.6GW by 2027.

Now, as cheap, plentiful solar power floods the grid in the middle of the day, hundreds of battery installations bank the energy and discharge it in the evening when people return home from work and demand — as well as prices — spike. This has shored up the grid, extended the state’s use of renewable energy and reduced its reliance on fossil fuels.

Elliot Mainzer, president of the California Independent System Operator (Caiso), which manages the flow of power across most of the state, says the blackouts in 2020 were “a clear call for action” and that batteries have “added a whole new dimension of capacity”.

https://ig.ft.com/mega-batteries/

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US September 2025 Had an All Time High 11.8% Battery Electric of All New Vehicles
October 13, 2025 by Brian Wang

New light-vehicle sales in September 2025 reached a SAAR of 16.4 million units, up 3.5% year over year. EV tax credits expired on September 30. Battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales hit an all-time high in market share and accounted for 11.8% of all new
vehicles sold.

US light vehicles sales were about 1.25 million in September 2025 and BEV were about 148000.

China domestic car sales rose 6.6% year-on-year to 2.27 million units, following a 4.9% increase in August, data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) continued robust growth, with September retail sales reaching 826,000 units — surpassing the previous record of 762,000 units set in December 2024. This represents a 28.5 percent year-on-year increase and a 19.8 percent rise from August.

https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2025/10/u ... icles.html

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3D porous structure promises safer, longer-lasting lithium-metal batteries for electric vehicles
https://techxplore.com/news/2025-10-3d- ... thium.html
by Pohang University of Science and Technology

According to the International Council on Clean Transportation, as of early 2024, there are approximately 40 million electric vehicles (EVs) in operation worldwide. Among them, verified battery-related fires in light-duty EVs number just over 500 between 2010 and mid-2023, corresponding to a fire risk of roughly 1 in 100,000 vehicles.

While this rate is substantially lower than that for internal-combustion-engine vehicles, EV battery fires remain a major concern because once thermal runaway occurs and a fire ignites, they can be extremely difficult to extinguish and may reignite.

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Unlocking next-generation battery performance: Fluoride-based solid electrolyte surpasses voltage limits

by Yonsei University

https://techxplore.com/news/2025-10-gen ... solid.html
In a major advancement for energy storage technology, Professor Yoon Seok Jung and his team at Yonsei University reveal a new fluoride-based solid electrolyte that enables all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs) to operate beyond 5 volts safely.

Their paper, published in Nature Energy, addressed a long-standing barrier in battery science, achieving high voltage stability without sacrificing ionic conductivity.

As Prof. Jung explains, "Our fluoride solid electrolyte, LiCl–4Li2TiF6, opens a previously forbidden route for high-voltage operation in solid-state batteries, marking a true paradigm shift in energy storage design."

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Iron-based battery material achieves higher energy state, promising improved storage and voltage

by Mark Golden and Glennda Chui, Stanford University

https://techxplore.com/news/2025-10-iro ... igher.html

Researchers have created a more energy dense storage material for iron-based batteries. The breakthrough could also improve applications in MRI technology and magnetic levitation.

In his 2018 doctoral thesis, Stanford University alumnus William Gent suggested an advance for an iron-based material that, if attainable, would create a higher energy state for iron—a breakthrough that could significantly improve energy storage and possibly other technologies.

However, Gent was able to take only an initial stab at making the material before his doctoral clock ran out.