Energy Storage & Grid Flexibility

Sungrow announced the successful commissioning and commercial operation launch of WKV Hydro Technics (Pvt) Ltd's 10 MW/40 MWh Battery Energy Storage System in Galle, Sri Lanka, on September 10, 2026. WKV Group, a subsidiary of Khen Energy Limited, deployed Sungrow's PowerTitan 2.0 solution, which integrates the battery system and power conversion system into an all-in-one AC-DC block and contributed to a 50% reduction in grid-connection time. The project, WKV's largest utility-scale BESS, sits approximately 500 meters from the sea in a hot, humid and corrosive environment and is designed for an operational life of at least 15 years. The system strengthens the grid's peak-shaving and frequency-regulation capabilities as Sri Lanka targets 70% of electricity generation from renewable energy sources by 2030. Sudath Pathmal, Chief Operating Officer of WKV Group, called the commissioning a technological milestone and a national achievement, and the project moved from thermal commissioning to pre-SAT in one week, with formal SAT and commercial operation following within five days.

QuantumScape announced the QS PowerBlock, a modular solid-state lithium-metal battery system for AI data centers that delivered four times the power density and five times the runtime of Open Compute Project Open Rack V3 benchmarks in controlled prototype testing. The system brings QuantumScape's solid-state cells into 800VDC, in-rack energy storage that exceeds key OCP specifications and targets 1 MW AI racks, positioning the technology directly inside the power architecture of next-generation data centers. The company has also joined the Open Compute Project, aligning the QS PowerBlock with OCP Open Rack V3 specifications and ecosystem partners, a move that could shape future customer billings and the pace at which its licensing model gains traction beyond autos. QuantumScape's narrative projects $242.3 million in revenue and $13.7 million in earnings by 2029, an earnings increase of about $418.7 million from -$405.0 million today, while more optimistic analysts project about US$335.6 million of revenue by 2029. The company still faces near-term execution risk around Eagle Line scale-up and converting development work into paid, recurring programs.

Lead Intelligent Equipment stated on an investor interaction platform on October 9 that the company can provide customized turnkey line solutions for global AIDC energy storage batteries, and has already secured production line equipment orders from relevant AIDC energy storage customers. The company also stated that its energy storage production line solutions are equally suitable for data center containerized energy storage construction scenarios, and it will continue to seize business expansion opportunities in related fields.

Jinguan Electric announced that its wholly owned subsidiary Jinguan Solar-Storage-Charging has signed an EPC general contracting framework agreement with SPIRO, with a total contract value not exceeding 296 million US dollars including tax, covering 50 grid-connected or off-grid integrated solar-storage-charging station projects in Africa. The company stated that this amount is an estimate based on standard station benchmark prices and planned quantities, and is not the final determined total price; actual execution will be subject to the specific EPC execution agreements subsequently signed by both parties. It is expected that only some batches of stations will be completed and delivered within this year, and contract revenue will be recognized in stages, with a relatively limited impact on the company's operating performance for 2026.

Wuhan Tianyuan announced that its wholly-owned grandchild company Wuhan Tianyuan Shuzhi Engineering Co., Ltd., in a consortium with Ningxia Luyu Integrated Energy Services Co., Ltd., recently signed the 'Ningxia Xiangteng Ningdong Town Jianghan Energy Storage Station Phase II Project Equipment Plus Installation Integrated Project Contract' with Ningxia Xiangteng No. 5 Power Technology Co., Ltd. The contract price is a fixed lump sum of 195 million yuan including tax.

Tesla reported third-quarter 2026 output of over 464,000 vehicles, deliveries above 486,000, and 13.7 GWh of deployed energy storage, while arranging US$30.00 billion in new unsecured credit facilities and term loans. Elon Musk confirmed that Tesla and SpaceX will build and operate the Terafab AI chip complex in Texas, with technology support from Intel, tightening in-house control of advanced semiconductors for Tesla's robotics, autonomy, and energy ambitions. The move raises the stakes for returns on the US$25,000,000,000 plus in planned 2026 capex. Tesla's narrative projects $165.9 billion revenue and $14.4 billion earnings by 2029, requiring 17.0% yearly revenue growth and a $10.6 billion earnings increase from $3.8 billion today, with a $395.57 fair value implying 5% upside. Some of the lowest ranked analysts assume only 7.7 percent annual revenue growth and US$4,400,000,000 in 2029 earnings.

LG Energy Solution reported preliminary third-quarter operating profit of 756 billion won, more than double the 365.5 billion won Bloomberg consensus estimate, a beat of about 107%. Revenue is expected to rise 59% to 9.6 trillion won for the three months ended September 30, according to the company's regulatory filing. The results were supported by U.S. production tax credits tied to the company's expanding energy-storage system production and incentives for American-made electric-vehicle batteries, along with the restart of production at its North American joint-venture facilities and a pickup in EV shipments to Europe. Excluding those U.S. production tax credits, LG Energy Solution would have posted operating profit of 339.1 billion won. Shares rose 4.09% to 407,000 won, their highest level since June 18, sharply outperforming a 0.6% fall in the broader KOSPI index. The company, which supplies batteries to Tesla, General Motors and Hyundai Motor, is scheduled to release its detailed third-quarter results on November 3.

The 15th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the New Battery Industry, jointly formulated by seven ministries including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Transport, has been officially released. It proposes that by 2030, the scale of China's new battery industry will achieve steady growth, and all-solid-state batteries will initially achieve large-scale application. Boosted by this news, the battery sector rose 3.03% intraday on October 8, with Jin Yinhe up 19.99%, Shangshui Intelligent up 14.92%, Liqi Intelligent up 11.90%, Fengyuan shares up 10.02%, and Xiongtao shares up 10.02%. A research report from Changjiang Securities pointed out that global lithium battery shipments are expected to exceed 3,000 gigawatt-hours in 2026, a year-on-year increase of more than 30%, with energy storage battery growth reaching 50% to 60%. In the fourth quarter of 2025, industry capacity utilization had already approached 80%. A research report from Caitong Securities pointed out that the mass production timeline for all-solid-state batteries is clearly concentrated between 2026 and 2028, and the pace of industrialization is accelerating.

Far East Smarter Energy announced on October 8 that from January to September 2026, its subsidiaries won or signed contract orders above 10 million yuan totaling 17.948 billion yuan, of which September alone accounted for 1.412 billion yuan. As part of that total, smart cable network and power business won or signed contract orders above 10 million yuan totaling 13.035 billion yuan in January–September, with 990 million yuan in September. Also within the total, smart battery storage and AI computing business won or signed contract orders above 10 million yuan totaling 4.238 billion yuan in January–September, up 126.38% year on year, with 172 million yuan in September. Smart airport business won or signed contract orders above 10 million yuan totaling 676 million yuan in January–September, with 250 million yuan in September, up 837.38% year on year and up 2,245.64% month on month.

The global Data Center Energy Storage Systems Market is projected to grow from USD 5.17 billion in 2026 to USD 10.48 billion by 2032, registering a CAGR of 12.5% during 2026–2032, according to MarketsandMarkets. Growth is driven by rising AI and hyperscale workloads, increasing data center power demand, renewable energy integration, and the need for resilient and flexible power infrastructure. Within the market, supercapacitor energy storage systems are the fastest-growing technology at a 16.5% CAGR, cloud and hyperscale data centers are the fastest-growing data center type at a 14.8% CAGR, and renewable integration and grid services is the fastest-growing application at an 18.3% CAGR. North America is expected to account for the largest regional share, while Asia Pacific is projected to register the highest CAGR. Key players include Tesla, Panasonic Holdings, Samsung SDI, LG Energy Solution, CATL, BYD, Schneider Electric, Vertiv, Eaton, ABB, Siemens Energy, Delta Electronics, Hitachi Energy, Fluence, and Saft.

Bualuang Securities said the Power Development Plan 2026, or PDP2026, is likely to be approved by October 2026 through the energy minister, the Energy Policy Administration Committee and the National Energy Policy Council, without needing cabinet approval, about two months faster than the market had expected. New capacity for 2026-2037 remains unchanged at 50.9GW, and the first power plant auction is expected in mid-2027. What has changed is not the size of investment but the sequence of investment, because the current grid serves today's demand, not the volume of renewable energy. Battery energy storage systems, direct power purchase agreements and data centers under PDP2026 mean investment in transmission systems, smart grid substations and engineering, procurement and construction work must come before new power plants. Case 4, expected to be the main approach, requires investment of about 500 billion baht for grid stability during 2029-2050. Demand for direct power purchase agreements already exceeds 2,000MW and is not limited to data centers, while electricity demand from data centers has been confirmed at about 7-8GW. The deciding factors are the wheeling charge for grid use and the readiness of the transmission system. For battery storage, the ministry is giving more weight to large, grid-scale systems, with battery capacity in the plan for 2026-2037 at 14.5GW and possibly rising to 55GW by 2050. The broker keeps an above-market view on the utilities sector, with GULF and GUNKUL still the top picks, but the order of attractiveness has clearly shifted, with GUNKUL moving to the front on its transmission EPC business and electrical equipment that benefit before the power plant auction. GULF still has the greatest opportunity to add profit in value terms and has businesses covering renewable energy, battery storage and gas. GPSC is supported by power plant renewals and battery storage, BGRIM still needs clarity on the wheeling charge, and EGCO and RATCH stand out for dividends and the opportunity from power plant renewals.

Mr. Teerawat Amornthatri, Managing Director of Bangkok Sheet Metal Public Company Limited, or BM, disclosed that the operating results for the third quarter of 2026 are likely to continue growing from the second quarter of 2026, in which the company had a net profit of 40.63 million baht and total revenue of 543.38 million baht. The main driver was the Data Center group, which has a sufficient order backlog to support production well into next year, causing the proportion of domestic revenue to rise to 58% from 50%. Meanwhile, overseas sales have remained strong, especially in the energy storage system group, where volume increased significantly. The company is focused on producing battery storage cabinets in container-sized units, mainly for export to the United States, and has benefited from the weaker baht, which supports export revenue. The company is confident that total revenue this year will grow in line with its target of 1.8 to 1.9 billion baht and has the opportunity to grow beyond that to 2 billion baht, with new customers continuously entering business negotiations across all six product groups.

Evolution Metals & Technologies Corp. has signed a Strategic Partnership Letter of Intent with UK-based INERGX Energy Optimisation Ltd. to engineer, supply, integrate and service the energy storage and power optimization systems for its planned critical materials and battery black mass recovery facility in the United States. The Facility is planned at approximately 1 GW of on-site capacity within two years, equivalent to the output of one typical U.S. nuclear reactor, and up to approximately 5 GW at full build-out, equivalent to five reactors and to the annual electricity use of approximately 4 million American homes, powered by on-site LNG generation. Under the LOI, INERGX intends to source cells, packs and battery management systems through qualified European or other approved non-China partners, with full country-of-origin documentation and no change in source without EM&T's written approval, addressing the roughly 85% share of global battery cell manufacturing capacity located in China in 2024. INERGX will carry out a First Block Study within eight weeks of receiving EM&T's site inputs, with definitive agreements for the first block targeted within twelve weeks of the study's delivery and acceptance, and a long-term service agreement with an anticipated initial term of ten years. The partnership comes as EM&T executes on its previously announced fiscal 2027 revenue guidance of $400 million to $460 million, reflecting the expected first full-year contribution from expanding its Pohang, Republic of Korea magnet capacity to approximately 10,000 metric tons annually.

Morgan Stanley upgraded BorgWarner to Overweight from Equal-weight, sending shares up 4.4% in premarket trading to $62.92. Analyst Andrew Percoco and his team said a long tail of ICE and hybrid demand supports the core auto outlook, while onsite power and storage add a higher-growth, higher-margin earnings opportunity. The firm raised its price target on BorgWarner to $95 using a sum-of-the-parts approach: $50 per share for the Core Auto business, based on a 5.5x EV/EBITDA multiple applied to a $2.20bn 2027 EBITDA estimate, and $45 per share for Distributed Power, based on a 12.5x EV/EBITDA multiple applied to a $1.2bn 2030 power EBITDA estimate discounted back to present value. Percoco wrote that the turbine generator offers the clearest near-term path to commercializing earnings beyond the auto cycle, ranking second just behind Bloom Energy's Solid Oxide Fuel Cell, while BorgWarner's microgrid inverter and ESS product provide a more modest additional avenue of growth. BorgWarner is expected to update its 2 GW manufacturing capacity target with its fourth-quarter earnings report.

Kasikorn Research Center reports that the world is entering an era in which electricity is at the center of the economic system, the Age of Electricity. The international energy organization IEA indicates that since 2019 global electricity demand has grown more than twice as fast as overall energy use, driven by electric vehicles, air conditioners, the industrial sector, and data centers. In the latest data for 2025, electricity accounted for about 23% of global final energy consumption, while economic activity dependent on electricity generated nearly half of global GDP, or 45%, and it is estimated that electricity's share of global final energy consumption will rise to 35% in 2035. Thailand is entering the Age of Electricity just as the world is, which changes the challenge for the energy system from simply having enough electricity to having electricity that is sufficient, clean, stable, and competitively priced. Clean electricity will become even more important to competitiveness, because Thailand's power generation sector still emits about 87 million tons of CO2 per year. The challenge therefore is not only increasing clean power generation capacity, but also investing in the grid and BESS to create flexibility in time for new demand, while also monitoring related energy policies such as PDP2026, Direct PPA, and the use of loans under the emergency decree for loans of 200 billion baht for the energy transition.

Tesla delivered 486,532 vehicles in the third quarter, topping Wall Street estimates of 463,000 even as the figure came in slightly below last year's 497,000. The company said it produced 464,000 vehicles in the quarter and deployed 13.7 gigawatts of energy storage products. The year-ago quarter was inflated by a rush of buyers ahead of the expiration of the federal tax credit, making the roughly 10,000-vehicle gap notable for demand strength. Tesla said it will release its third-quarter earnings on October 21 after the bell. The delivery figure is a global number, with improving demand in Europe and China serving as a major export hub.

Tesla produced over 464,000 vehicles and delivered over 486,000 vehicles in the third quarter of 2026, while deploying 13.7 GWh of energy storage products. The Model 3 and Model Y accounted for 457,387 vehicles produced and 478,237 delivered, with the remaining 7,004 produced and 8,295 delivered coming from other models. Tesla will report its third quarter 2026 financial results after market close on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, followed by a live question and answer webcast at 4:30 p.m. Central Time. The company noted that vehicle deliveries and storage deployments represent only two measures of its financial performance and should not be relied on as an indicator of quarterly results.

The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) has successfully tested automated energy connection and dispatch in the form of a Virtual Power Plant, linking its Demand Response Control Center (DRCC) with the ENZY Platform, an intelligent energy management platform developed by EGAT. Thidech Iamsai, EGAT Deputy Governor for Related Business, revealed on 30 September 2026 that the test integrated three types of energy resources: demand response, battery energy storage systems (BESS), and solar power generation. When the DRCC sends a command to the ENZY Platform, the system processes data from local energy resources and automatically dispatches various devices according to set conditions, both reducing electricity use during peak demand alongside discharging power from batteries and solar cells, and storing energy in batteries during periods of low demand. EGAT stated that this success reflects its readiness to upgrade Thailand's power system to a Smart Grid, accommodating the growth of renewable energy, energy storage systems, and electric vehicles, as well as opening opportunities for electricity users, buildings, factories, and owners of distributed energy sources to participate in managing the power system, in order to strengthen energy security and support Thailand's Net Zero goal.

Gotion has launched global delivery for what will be Africa's largest AC-coupled energy storage project, with the first 50 heavy-duty trucks carrying its self-developed Gotion Grid 5MWh storage systems departing simultaneously from its Jinzhai and Nantong facilities on Sept. 28. The shipment came within three months of signing, a pace Gotion attributes to its vertically integrated supply chain and upstream-downstream coordination. The Gotion Grid systems will serve Egypt's Nefertiti and Horus projects, the country's first large-scale standalone storage projects and, once completed, Africa's largest standalone storage facilities. Developed by AMEA Power and built by China Energy Engineering Group, the projects are designed to strengthen grid stability, support solar and wind integration, and advance Egypt's 2030 clean energy goals, with systems upgraded for extreme heat, sandstorms and salt fog and offering high-voltage stability, high safety and millisecond-level response. Hussain Al Nowais, Chairman of AMEA Power, said the shipment opens a new stage of broader cooperation, while Li Chen, Senior Vice President of Gotion and President of Gotion Americas, called Egypt Gotion's key step into the Middle East and North Africa.

Gresham House Energy Storage Fund PLC reported that its net asset value per share grew 15.8% to 131.3p in the first half of 2026, driven by the revaluation of incremental projects to fair value on a discounted cash flow basis. Revenue rose nearly 10% to close to 35 million, with contracted revenues now representing 61% of the total, and operational capacity reached a record high of 1,072 megawatts and 1,853 megawatt hours after 152 megawatt hours of battery capacity were added in the half. Lead Fund Manager Ben Guest said the next major NAV boost should come from the 777 megawatt incremental project pipeline, which will be revalued at quarter end following financial close expected in the third or fourth quarter of 2027, with the uplift per megawatt potentially similar to this quarter's. Trading revenues fell year on year on flatter market conditions and higher skip rates, and several assets including Glastonbury and Stafford, totaling 90 megawatts, were offline for augmentation and distribution network operator outages. The Rayleigh grid connection offer under NISO Gate 2 remains pending, and the board plans to update investors on dividend policy before the end of the year.

Ellomay Capital Ltd. announced that its Spanish indirectly held wholly-owned subsidiary, Ellomay Solar S.L., has received a battery storage grid access and connection permit for a project with a capacity of up to 22.2 MW / 100.3 MWh (4.5-hour), known as the BESS Facility. The BESS Facility also received a permit to charge 22.2 MW of electricity from the grid, which Ellomay said is expected to increase the flexibility and profitability of the project. The facility will be built on land already leased to Ellomay Solar, which owns a 28 MWp solar facility in Talaván, Cáceres, Spain. Ellomay expects construction of the BESS Facility to begin in the beginning of 2027 and to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2027. CEO and board member Ran Fridrich called the permit an important milestone in the company's strategy, noting that battery storage is a core growth engine for Ellomay, with a focus on markets where the need for flexibility is growing fastest, primarily Spain and Italy.

BrenX has entered into a definitive real estate sale and purchase agreement to acquire approximately 10,872 square meters of industrial land and photovoltaic infrastructure adjacent to its operating solar facility in Kaposszekcső, Hungary. The transaction marks the company's first execution of its develop-own-operate strategy and expands its footprint around the existing 1.2 MWp solar facility, which is already operating and provides the energy foundation for the site's potential expansion. CEO Nir Brenmiller said the acquisition could transform the Kaposszekcső property from a standalone renewable energy asset into what BrenX believes could become its first integrated industrial energy resource center. Potential developments at the site could include additional photovoltaic generation, battery energy storage systems, BrenX's proprietary bGen thermal energy storage technology, industrial energy services and, where technically and economically appropriate, modular data center infrastructure. BrenX believes the integrated approach could create opportunities for longer-term customer relationships and recurring revenue, and said it is now delivering its first commercial project and starting construction of its second.

ConnectDER announced the hiring of Chad Conway as VP of Product, tasking the former Tesla and SPAN executive with leading product strategy across its meter socket adapter lineup. Conway brings 15 years of hardware experience in the clean energy transition, including six years on Tesla's Energy team, where he helped scale the Powerwall from concept to more than 50,000 annual deployments, and a founding role at smart electric panel maker SPAN, where he served as Head of Products and led development of the SPAN Panel from an idea to installations in thousands of U.S. homes. In his new role he will focus on advancing ConnectDER's flagship IslandDER product line, launched in 2025 to unlock seamless whole-home backup, deepening its onboard functionality and adding new OEM partnerships. IslandDER has become the standard Microgrid Interconnect Device option for installers and is compatible with systems from SolarEdge, FranklinWH, Lunar Energy, EcoFlow, and Fox ESS, with additional partnerships already under agreement. ConnectDER President and CEO Ivo Steklac said Conway's experience scaling category-defining platforms at SPAN and Tesla makes him uniquely equipped to guide the company's product roadmap as rising electricity costs and more frequent outages drive demand for residential storage.

Critical Loop announced that its software-defined power controller, Cygnus, has achieved official CSIP 2030.5 certification and completed interoperability testing with Pacific Gas and Electric Company, joining the utility's Flex Connect Approved Solution Providers list. Combined with its existing UL 3141 listing, Cygnus is the first power controller on the market to hold both certifications, giving customers broad compatibility across utility environments including PG&E and Southern California utilities. The milestones support flexible interconnection, an approach California is embracing to accommodate rapidly growing electricity demand without waiting years for traditional grid upgrades. PG&E's Flex Connect program currently supports five operational sites, including commercial EV fleets, public fast-charging infrastructure and battery energy storage systems, with more than 85 additional projects in the active pipeline. Critical Loop, a finalist in PG&E's 2025 Innovation Pitch Fest, said it is now actively onboarding commercial and industrial customers across California, offering a path to full operations in months rather than years.

Fluence Energy has entered into a multi-year master supply agreement with EVE Power, a global lithium battery manufacturer, to secure battery cells for its energy storage systems. Under the agreement, EVE Power will supply battery cells for Fluence's energy storage solutions, supporting the company's efforts to strengthen supply chain resilience and meet growing customer demand. The deal forms part of Fluence's broader global supply strategy, giving it greater visibility into supply availability and costs while it pursues domestic content offerings in the United States and potential localization opportunities in other regions. The company said reliable access to advanced lithium battery technology could help it execute large-scale storage projects more efficiently and reduce supply-related uncertainties. Separately, Tesla announced in March that it is collaborating with South Korea's LG Energy Solution to buy $4.3 billion worth of lithium iron phosphate battery cells, to be manufactured at a Lansing, Michigan factory starting in 2027. Fluence shares currently carry a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

Bualuang Securities has maintained its Buy rating on Gunkul Engineering Public Company Limited, or GUNKUL, with a target price of 6.50 baht, after GUNKUL signed power purchase agreements for an additional 261.8MW of Phase 2 renewable energy projects. This brings the entire Phase 2 pipeline of 319MW to fully contracted status. The latest signed projects comprise 19.4MW of solar with commercial operation in 2027 and 242.4MW of wind with commercial operation in 2030. At the same time, GUNKUL sold a 50% stake in seven project companies to Gulf Renewable Energy, a company within the GULF group, for 466.5 million baht, covering 12 projects totalling 673.4MW gross, or 336.7MW on a proportional equity basis after the deal, spanning wind, solar, and solar-plus-BESS. The project companies will shift from subsidiaries to joint ventures, or JVs, after the transaction. Bualuang's research team views the key benefit of the deal as reducing the balance sheet burden rather than the gain from the share sale, because the projects require total investment of roughly 34.7 billion baht, of which about 26.0 billion baht is project debt. After the restructuring into JVs, that debt will sit at the joint venture level, and GUNKUL will contribute only about 4.3 billion baht in equity investment. If it held all the projects itself, analysts estimate net debt-to-equity in 2028 would rise from 0.22 times to 2.0 times, and IBD-to-EBITDA from 1.5 times to 6.8 times. The JV structure therefore helps preserve GUNKUL's capacity to invest in the next round, both PDP2026 and Direct PPA. On earnings, there is no change to the 2026 to 2028 forecasts, because the existing estimates already assume 50% ownership of these projects and recognition as share of profit from JVs. The new upside is the EPC business, because once the projects become JVs, construction work that GUNKUL takes on from the projects can be recognised as revenue in the consolidated accounts. If it wins EPC work equal to 15% of the 34.7 billion baht in project investment, at a net margin of 10%, that would generate total profit of about 520 million baht over 2026 to 2030, or an average of 130 million baht per year, equal to roughly 4% of 2028 core profit, which is not yet included in current estimates.

Samsung has committed $1 billion to Helix Digital Infrastructure, the AI infrastructure company formed by KKR, through its long-duration capital fund. The commitment builds on the more than $10 billion of capital committed to the Helix strategy at its launch by founding investors including KKR, the Kuwait Investment Authority, NVIDIA and Vistra, and will provide additional long-duration capital for Helix's strategy of investing in and delivering the data centers, power, connectivity and related infrastructure required to support growing AI demand. Helix CEO and Co-Founder Adam Selipsky called Samsung's commitment a strong vote of confidence in the strategy and said the company brings unique capabilities that are expected to benefit Helix and its customers. Alongside NVIDIA's expertise in full-stack technology and AI infrastructure and Vistra's role in power, Helix expects to explore opportunities to leverage Samsung's capabilities in areas such as advanced technology, construction, energy storage and cooling. Globally, KKR has invested over $75 billion across digital infrastructure and power, including approximately $9 billion across its strategies in Korea, where the firm has been present since 2009.

PT. Kolaka Nickel Indonesia is developing a landmark hybrid solar photovoltaic and battery energy storage system project in Oko Oko, Pomalaa, in the Kolaka Regency of Southeast Sulawesi, pairing a 20 MWp solar array with a 20 MW / 30 MWh energy storage system. Funding was secured in January 2026 through non-recourse financing from three banks: Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Indonesia) Limited, Standard Chartered Bank Indonesia, and China CITIC Bank International Limited. The 11th Design & Research Institute of Electronics Industry Co., Ltd. serves as the EPC contractor, overseeing design, procurement and construction, while ZNSHINE SOLAR supplies the high-efficiency photovoltaic modules engineered for Indonesia's tropical conditions. Commissioning is scheduled for March 2027, after which the facility is expected to deliver decarbonization benefits for local nickel-sector operations. The project is described as a critical milestone on Indonesia's path toward greater sustainability and energy self-sufficiency.

PTT Public Company Limited, or PTT, has signed a memorandum of intent for cooperation with four government agencies to develop the I-SPARK pilot model, building readiness in clean energy and infrastructure for low-carbon industry in Rayong province. Dr. Kongkrapan Intarajang, Chief Executive Officer and President of PTT, presided over the ceremony, held at Gastech Bangkok 2026 at the BITEC Exhibition and Convention Center in Bangkok. The co-signatories included Dr. Buranin Rattanasombat, Chief Operating Officer of the New Business and Sustainability Group at PTT; Dr. Pirun Saiyasitpanich, Director-General of the Department of Climate Change and Environment; Mr. Wattanapong Kurovat, Director of the Energy Policy and Planning Office; Mr. Warakorn Prasertphon, Director-General of the Department of Mineral Fuels; and Mr. Sumet Tangprasert, Governor of the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand. I-SPARK is the development of a low-carbon industrial ecosystem in Map Ta Phut district, Rayong province, integrating investment projects and key infrastructure across three clusters: Low Carbon Energy & Solution, Shared/Common Infrastructure, and Specialties, Bio & Circularity. It covers LNG, hydrogen and ammonia energy, battery energy storage systems, carbon capture and storage, sustainable aviation fuel, bio-based products, specialty chemicals, and the recycling of used plastics back into new raw materials. By 2035, investment in I-SPARK projects is expected to reach as much as 5 billion US dollars and to cut greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.

Solar, energy storage and lithium battery sectors are getting a boost from multiple positive catalysts. According to industry information, 11 polysilicon producers discussed controlling operating rates at around 35% starting in October. If the production cuts are carried out as planned, they would help ease inventory pressure and shift industry competition from low-price capacity expansion toward a rebalancing of supply and demand. In energy storage, Nvidia launched the DSX Ready certification program, bringing battery energy storage systems into the category of core equipment for AI factories, with a focus on fast response, stable power supply and power quality. Energy storage is thus extending beyond traditional peak shaving and valley filling to ensuring the stable operation of computing infrastructure. In lithium batteries, CATL's battery cell plant in Debrecen, Hungary began trial production on September 22, marking the entry of localized European capacity into the equipment and process validation stage. Guosheng Securities noted that expectations for polysilicon production cuts are clear, and supply contraction is expected to help stabilize prices along the industrial chain. From October, the industry's overall operating load is expected to fall to around 35%, and some downstream companies have already begun gradually restocking. Polysilicon producers are showing a stronger willingness to hold prices, generally using full cost as the floor for quotations. As of 1:39 p.m. on September 28, 2026, the STAR Innovation Energy ETF managed by Penghua, ticker 588830, saw its underlying index, the SSE STAR Market New Energy Index, ticker 000692, fall 4.64%, with KBC Corporation leading the decline among constituents, down 9.66%.