Batteries

A Massachusetts town uses batteries to help its grid — and its schools

Batteries can serve double-duty, shoring up the grid and providing backup to buildings when the power goes out. This project shows how.

By Jeff St. John . 7 October 2024

A computer rendering of Wakfield Municipal Light & Gas Department's battery and generator 'energy park' — A computer rendering of the Energy Park battery-and-generator project being built in Wakefield, Massachusetts, to provide grid services and backup power for two local high schools. (Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department)

EV charging

Tesla bets $76M on wireless EV charging. Can the tech go mainstream?

Wireless charging could solve many of the headaches caused by EV charging today. But for it to even have a chance, automakers need to integrate it into mass production.

By Julian Spector . 9 August 2023
Electric vehicles

Chart: EV ranges are growing, but at a cost

Range anxiety is being replaced by materials anxiety as automakers roll out more powerful batteries that gobble up a greater volume of scarce minerals.

By Eric Wesoff . 4 August 2023
Energy storage

Tesla alum aims to build the power company of the future

Equilibrium Energy is live in Texas with an offering to rent grid batteries and make money with them in the ERCOT markets. But CEO Ryan Hanley says it's just the start.

By Julian Spector . 1 August 2023
Batteries

Can mobile batteries make dirty diesel generators obsolete?

Emissions-free mobile battery systems are taking on diesel generators as the power source of choice for movie sets, construction sites and disaster relief.

By Jeff St. John . 12 July 2023
Solar

Home batteries will help bolster Puerto Rico's grid in emergencies

Sunrun is launching a first-of-its-kind program on the island that will harness rooftop solar and battery storage systems to avoid rolling blackouts.

By Maria Gallucci . 27 June 2023
Batteries

LG kicks off colossal ramp-up of US factories for EV and grid batteries

The South Korean company will build nearly 280 gigawatt-hours' worth of factory capacity across America to meet growing demand for grid storage and EV batteries.

By Julian Spector . 26 June 2023
Batteries

DOE offers record-breaking $9.2B loan to build EV batteries in the US

The conditional loan to Ford–SK On joint venture BlueOval will back another massive investment in the rapidly expanding Battery Belt taking shape in the Southeast.

By Jeff St. John . 22 June 2023
Energy storage

New York City is getting its biggest battery system yet

Con Edison said it's about to begin operating a 7.5 MW battery system in Staten Island as New York grapples with grid reliability concerns and rising power demand.

By Maria Gallucci . 22 June 2023
Electrification

Lunar Energy bets on a seamless 'ecosystem' for home electrification

Tesla's former residential energy chief raised $300 million to bring a vertically integrated home battery and energy controls system to market. Here's the result.

By Jeff St. John . 21 June 2023
Podcast

AI for climate: A real-world test

We challenged a non-coder to use ChatGPT to write battery software. The results were surprising.

Play

By Shayle Kann . 80 min . 15 June 2023