Estonia has delivered its largest heat storage facility, begun construction on its largest solar-plus-storage hybrid project, and is preparing to break ground on an 800 MWh battery park in Valga County, set to become the largest in the Baltics. February 20, 2026 Marija Maisch Image: Evecon From ESS News French investment fund Mirova and Estonian renewable energy developer Evecon have announced a series of milestones supporting the acceleration of Estonia’s energy transition. Through their joi...

Naos‑1 is described as South Africa’s biggest private utility‑scale solar and battery storage project, designed to wheel power to industrial customers. February 13, 2026 Marija Maisch Image: Sasol From ESS News South African independent power producer SOLA Group has reached financial close on its Naos‑1 Hybrid Solar and Battery Project, touted as the country’s first utility‑scale solar PV and battery energy storage project purpose-built for wheeling power to private end-users across...

Hungary has opened applications for a program offering up to HUF 2.5 million ($7,820) per household to support residential battery storage, prioritizing grid-exporting solar users and small rural settlements. February 11, 2026 Marija Maisch Image: Senec From ESS News Hungary has opened applications for the Home Energy Storage Program, offering households a non-refundable grant of up to HUF 2.5 million for the installation of battery energy storage systems. The application period runs from Feb. 2...

Rystad Energy says it expects global battery energy storage system (BESS) additions to exceed 130 GW/350 GWh in 2026, led by China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Germany. February 5, 2026 Marija Maisch Image: Rystad Energy Storage Solution From ESS News Last year marked a historic inflection point for BESS, as global operational storage capacity surpassed 250 GW, overtaking pumped hydropower energy storage (PHES) for the first time, according to Rystad Energy. Annual addi...

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. January 30, 2026 Marija Maisch Image: TheStorage 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...

During testing at Estonia’s 100 MW Kiisa battery park, both EstLink 1 and EstLink 2 tripped, triggering the most severe disturbance to the regional power grid since desynchronization from the Russian electricity system. As a result, nearly 1 GW of capacity was lost within seconds. The park’s owner has since publicly pointed to the battery manufacturer. January 29, 2026 Marija Maisch Image: NIB From ESS News A disturbance in Estonia’s power system on Jan. 20 forced both EstLink interconnect...

The European Union added 27.1 GWh of battery energy storage capacity in 2025, with utility-scale systems accounting for the majority of new installations as residential storage declined amid lower electricity prices and reduced support schemes, according to a new report from SolarPower Europe. January 28, 2026 Marija Maisch Image: pv magazine From ESS News The European Union’s battery energy storage fleet has grown for the 12th consecutive year, marking yet another record year for new installa...

The SLDBatt project brings together TRL 7 battery technologies – including molten sodium‑salt, saltwater acid–base flow, and hydrogen–iron flow batteries – to deliver an innovative and cost-effective long-duration energy storage solution. January 14, 2026 Marija Maisch Image: Elestor From ESS News A Dutch consortium, ranging from innovative start-ups to internationally operating energy companies, is developing a new type of long-duration energy storage (LDES) solution capable of storin...