Monday, 27 July 2026

Australian network operator AusNet has signed an AUD 300 million (USD 210 million) contract with South Korea's Hyosung Heavy Industries covering up to 45 power transformers for the energy network in the state of Victoria, according to pv magazine.

Under the agreement, Hyosung will deliver the 45 transmission transformers, which step voltage up or down across the grid, along with reactors and other critical power equipment over the next five years, pv magazine reported.

AusNet CEO David Smales framed the contract as a hedge against tight equipment markets. "This agreement locks in access to globally scarce equipment, giving us greater certainty to deliver critical projects," Smales said.

The procurement runs against Victoria's generation targets. The state has set renewable energy generation and storage targets that include 65% renewable generation by 2030 and 95% by 2035, according to pv magazine. Reaching those shares depends on transmission capacity built and energised ahead of new generation, and transformers sit on the critical path for that work.

Large power transformers are among the longest-lead items in transmission construction, and multi-year framework contracts of the kind AusNet has signed are one of the few tools a network operator has to fix delivery slots in advance. The five-year supply window ties the equipment schedule to the period between Victoria's two renewable milestones.

Australia is putting AU$30 million into 14 projects intended to make its electricity networks smarter and more flexible, with vehicle-to-grid and smart EV charging among the eligible technologies, according to electrive.

The money comes from the Grid Enhancing Technologies (GET) Grant Program, administered by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW), electrive reported.

Grants are awarded competitively, with a ceiling of AU$5 million per project. The programme window runs from 2025-26 to 2028-29, according to electrive.

On the electromobility side, electrive named Jet Charge as a recipient for its project 'Realising Network Benefits from Vehicle-to-Grid'. Charge Hub Australia also secured funding, for a project titled 'From Anxiety to Access: Designing Dynamic Pricing that Customers Will Want'.

The 14 projects are spread across six states and territories: Victoria, NSW, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory, per electrive.

Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen said the GET grants will support more renewables in the system, put downward pressure on energy bills, and build a stronger, more resilient grid, electrive reported.

The UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero published a policy paper on 27 July 2026 setting out an updated scheme design for bill discounts aimed at households closest to new and significantly upgraded electricity transmission infrastructure.

The department said the scheme applies to England, Scotland and Wales.

According to the paper, the government's position covers eligibility, scheme administration, payment arrangements, compliance and funding.

LG Energy Solution wants the US International Trade Commission to shut out imports of products built around five battery technology patents it says are being infringed, and has separately sued Chinese cell maker EVE Energy in US federal court, ESS News reported.

The federal complaint was lodged on July 21 with the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas by the South Korean producer, according to the same report.

Cylindrical cell designs, among them tabless architectures, account for four of the disputed patents. The fifth covers separator technology.

Power-tool makers appear alongside the cell manufacturer as defendants. Bosch, Koki Holdings and Chervon-related entities are accused of importing or selling goods that contain EVE cells, ESS News reported.

EVE Energy set out its position in a July 24 announcement to a China stock exchange, saying no formal legal documents had reached it from the Texas court or the ITC. After reviewing the technologies and patent claims internally, the company said it "has not infringed any of the patents asserted by the other party".

EVE said its own filings run to more than 17,000 patent applications worldwide, over 3,000 of them covering cylindrical batteries.

Tulip Innovation runs the lithium-ion licensing program that pools patents held by LG Energy Solution and Panasonic Energy, a portfolio it puts at more than 5,000 patents drawn from over 1,500 patent families, per ESS News.

The African Development Bank has approved a EUR 100 million loan for Chinese battery cell manufacturer and Volkswagen partner Gotion High-Tech, backing the cell factory the company plans to build in Morocco, electrive reported.

The site is the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra Free Trade Zone, and according to electrive the plant will be the first integrated battery production facility in Africa.

Gotion is planning an initial annual capacity of 10 GWh for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells and packs destined for electric vehicles, electrive reported, with a long-term target of 100 GWh.

The loan follows an investment agreement Gotion signed with the Moroccan government in 2024 for the battery cell factory.

Beyond its own commitment, the African Development Bank intends to mobilise additional money from financial partners for the project, with a figure of up to EUR 141 million under discussion, according to electrive.

German battery manufacturer Varta has filed for self-administered insolvency with the Stuttgart District Court, and the proceedings cover its solar-storage and energy management business, according to ESS News.

The filing extends to the parent company, Varta AG, and all subsidiaries with one exception: Varta Consumer Batteries, the household battery and power bank arm, stays outside the proceedings, ESS News reported. Varta Storage, which bundles the group's solar storage and energy management system business, is inside them.

ESS News reported that Varta pointed to a structural financing gap behind the move. The company attributed the filing to significantly deteriorating market conditions, weaker demand, and adverse currency effects, alongside the decision by a key customer to end its business relationship. That customer is Apple, which sourced batteries from Varta for its headphones.

Varta currently employs around 3,300 people, according to ESS News.

The Stuttgart District Court appointed Stuttgart-based lawyer Tobias Wahl as supervisor of the self-administered insolvency proceedings. Self-administration leaves existing management in control of day-to-day operations under that supervision, distinguishing it from a standard insolvency administration.

The carve-out of the consumer batteries unit sets the boundary of the restructuring: the household products business continues outside the case, while the storage and energy management operations are exposed to whatever outcome the proceedings produce.