Tuesday, 13 October 2026

Riyadh hosted the 16th session of the Arab Ministerial Council for Electricity under the chairmanship of Saudi Arabia, the current chair of the council.

Ministers reviewed progress on the signing and ratification of two agreements that would establish the Arab Common Electricity Market. The session also covered a pilot electricity exchange project among Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has selected 14 hydropower projects to enter negotiations for testing assistance through the Hydropower Testing Network, according to powerinfotoday.com. The program supports developers working to advance technologies toward commercial deployment.

The selected projects cover new power generation and storage systems, equipment maintenance, environmental monitoring and fish passage, powerinfotoday.com reported.

If negotiations are completed, developers will receive vouchers for in-kind support from testing facilities matched to their technical requirements.

Pumped hydro remains one route for storing electricity at grid scale. At the Hiwassee Dam, a reversible unit pumps water to the upper reservoir when electricity demand is low and reverses the process to produce 85 MW when demand is high, according to ecoportal.net. At full pumping capacity, Unit 2 can move up to 1.75 million gallons of river water per minute uphill into the upper reservoir.

India's battery storage requirement is projected to reach 236.22 GWh by FY2031-32, requiring INR 3.49 trillion in investment as the country expands renewable energy and strengthens grid flexibility, according to a report cited by responsibleus.com.

Separately, Elara Capital initiated coverage on Adani Power with an accumulate rating and a target price of INR 220, according to Business Today.

Work has started in Dumbrava-Deal, Neamț County, Romania, on a battery storage installation rated at 50 MW and 100 MWh, with EPC contractor Parapet handling delivery, ESS News reported.

MetaWealth, a European investment platform, holds ownership of the asset, which the companies expect to reach commercial operation in spring 2027, according to ESS News.

The installation pairs 20 battery storage units with five power conversion system units, ESS News reported.

Alongside the batteries, the developers plan a 20 / 110 kV high-voltage substation carrying a 63 MVA transformer.

ProLogium and Rimac Technology unveiled a concept mock-up of their planned solid-state battery pack in Paris, according to electrive.

The functional battery segment now under development will be showcased at CES 2027, according to Rimac Technology.

The two companies plan to begin vehicle tests on public roads in the second half of 2028, electrive reported.

France-based Exide Technologies has brought out Solition Powerflex, a modular battery energy storage system built for commercial and industrial sites.

Each outdoor cabinet pairs a 261 kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery with a 125 kW bidirectional power conversion system.

Operators can string up to 15 cabinets in parallel for grid-connected use, reaching 3.915 MWh of combined capacity and 1.875 MW of power output.

The system carries a nominal round-trip efficiency of 86% including auxiliary consumption, according to Exide's technical datasheet reported by pv magazine and ESS News.

CATL and Intilion have signed an agreement to jointly develop up to 3 GWh of sodium-ion battery storage projects across German-speaking Europe over five years, according to ESS News.

The two companies intend to deploy CATL's sodium-ion battery solutions in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, ESS News reported. Intilion CEO Hubertus Jakobi announced the agreement in a LinkedIn post on Oct. 9.

ESS News noted that the 3 GWh amount is a development target rather than a confirmed volume of battery deliveries.

Qatar sent a delegation headed by Minister of State for Energy Affairs Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi to the 16th session of the Arab Ministerial Council for Electricity, convened in Riyadh alongside Riyadh Energy Week, the Qatar Tribune reported.

Talks focused on tighter electricity cooperation among Arab states, sharing technical know-how, and backing investment projects, with ministers weighing modern technologies for the region's power infrastructure.

The ministers worked through a set of reports from the council's specialized committees. Those covered renewable energy, energy efficiency, plans for a common Arab electricity market, and the peaceful use of nuclear energy for power generation and seawater desalination.