Energy Storage, Grids & Hydrogen

COPENHAGEN – November 12, 2026 -- NKT has delivered 525 kV HVDC power cable sections, each longer than five kilometres in continuous length, to TenneT Germany for the tunnel beneath the River Elbe. The cables are part of the SuedLink project.

NKT developed the cable specifically for this section of the route. The company describes it as one of the most demanding cable deliveries in the northern part of SuedLink, which TenneT Germany is executing as transmission system operator.

Five-kilometre sections ruled out conventional cable drums

The sections are far longer than typical onshore power cable lengths, so NKT could not use standard drums. The company built a dedicated logistics chain to move the cable from its high-voltage factory in Karlskrona, Sweden, to the installation site in Germany.

The operation combined cable baskets, marine transport, floating-crane lifts and specialised heavy-load transport on German roads.

Crystal Springs, Mississippi – September 18, 2026 -- Hitachi Energy will build a $528 million transformer manufacturing facility in Gallman, Mississippi, marking the company's largest single U.S. investment to date and pushing its total American manufacturing commitment to roughly $1.5 billion.

New Gallman plant will more than double transformer output

The facility, located about 6.5 miles from Hitachi Energy's existing Crystal Springs plant, will be more than twice the size of the current site and create over 700 jobs, more than double the area's existing workforce. Construction is set to begin in late 2026, with transformer production scheduled to start in 2029. Once operational, production will shift from Crystal Springs to Gallman, with the older facility repurposed for warehousing and training.

Delray Beach, Fla. – September 18, 2026 -- The global transformer oil market is projected to grow from $2.18 billion in 2026 to $2.87 billion by 2031, expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 5.6%, according to MarketsandMarkets. The market stood at $2.07 billion in 2025.

Grid modernization and renewable integration drive new demand

Utilities and grid operators are accelerating investment in transmission and distribution infrastructure, replacing aging transformers and expanding high-voltage networks to evacuate renewable power. This buildout is fueling demand for insulating fluids used for electrical insulation and heat dissipation in both new and refurbished transformers.

Athens – September 18, 2026 -- Europe could save €10 billion in electricity grid investment by 2030 through smarter management of EV charging, according to a new study commissioned by EIT Urban Mobility, ChargeUp Europe and ACEA, and conducted by Siemens.

Grid upgrade costs could fall from €24.7 billion to €14 billion

The study, titled Electricity Grids in Europe, models 64 representative cities across the EU27 and three EEA countries to assess how rising electric vehicle adoption will strain distribution networks. Without intervention, grid reinforcement to accommodate EV growth would require an estimated €24.7 billion in investment by 2030. Deploying intelligent EV Load Management -- which coordinates charging timing and speed to avoid peak-demand overloads -- could reduce this figure to roughly €14 billion, avoiding €10.6 billion in capital spending.

Xi'an, China – September 18, 2026 -- JDEnergy has signed a framework agreement with Spanish partner WDenergia targeting 200 MWh of battery energy storage system (BESS) business in Spain, focused on commercial and industrial (C&I) projects.

JDEnergy and WDenergia agree to pursue 200 MWh of C&I storage capacity in Spain

The cooperation pairs JDEnergy's string PCS technology and international project track record with WDenergia's local development and EPC capabilities. The partnership was detailed during a joint webinar titled "Future-Ready Energy Storage: String PCS Architecture for Spain's Energy Transition," which brought together JDEnergy's technical and sales teams with WDenergia representatives.

Allentown, Pa. – September 18, 2026 -- PPL Electric Utilities has filed a proposal with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to create a new billing mechanism that would directly assign certain transmission network upgrade costs tied to large energy users, including data centers, to those specific customers rather than spreading them across its 1.5 million residential and business accounts.

New rider replaces existing transmission charge without adding fees

The proposed Customer Protection Transmission Rider (CPTR) would replace the utility's current Transmission Service Charge (TSC). PPL Electric says the change does not introduce a new charge but instead restructures how transmission costs are recovered, making them visible as a dedicated line item on customer bills rather than embedded within supply charges.

Toronto – September 18, 2026 -- Global Battery Materials Corp. (GBM) has signed a non-binding Letter of Intent with South Korean battery manufacturer LiBEST to evaluate and potentially commercially supply natural graphite, coated spherical purified graphite (CSPG), and other anode materials sourced and processed entirely outside China.

LOI targets defence, AI infrastructure and EV supply chains

The agreement covers materials intended for energy storage, defence, AI infrastructure and electric vehicle applications, and is designed to support qualification pathways for GBM's anode materials across allied-government and defence-related supply chains. The LOI builds on a prior Memorandum of Understanding between the two companies that established a framework for battery materials testing, anode product development and participation in government programs.