Author: EnergyNews.biz Newsroom

Fortum has inaugurated the €20 million Kalla Test Center in Loviisa, Finland, marking the launch of a 2 MW pilot hydrogen facility designed to generate long term operational data and real world testing experience as the hydrogen sector shifts focus from project announcements toward commercial and technical validation.

At a time when the United States is scaling grid storage capacity beyond 25 GW of operational battery systems and adding hundreds of megawatts of new installations each year, POET and Antora Energy’s deployment of a 5 gigawatt hour thermal energy storage facility in Big Stone City, South Dakota signals a parallel but less conventional trajectory: industrial heat decarbonization anchored in high temperature carbon based storage rather than electrochemical batteries.

Cork County Council has allocated more than €50,000 under its 2026 Circular Economy Fund to support 29 community level projects aimed at reducing single use plastics and accelerating reuse based consumption models across schools, sports clubs, festivals, and community organizations.

Iberdrola SA is advancing a 1-GW class battery energy storage system in Queensland, signaling continued international utility investment in Australia’s grid stabilization market.

The global liquid hydrogen market, valued at approximately $9 billion today and projected to reach $19 billion by 2032 before exceeding $54 billion from 2037 onward, is entering a phase where infrastructure constraints rather than technology readiness are increasingly defining deployment timelines.

Provaris Energy Ltd has entered a cooperation framework with shipping group Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd and Norwegian Hydrogen AS to advance a dedicated maritime supply chain for compressed hydrogen exports from western Norway into demand centers in Northern Europe.

South Africa’s Coega Green Ammonia Project has moved closer to execution after project developer Hive Hydrogen selected Topsoe A/S to provide approximately $1 billion worth of electrolyzer and ammonia synthesis equipment.

Ford Motor Company is expanding its role beyond electric vehicles through its energy division, Ford Energy, which has signed a five year framework agreement with EDF Power Solutions North America for up to 4 GWh of DC Block battery energy storage systems annually.

In the Baltic region, Estonia’s plans to position itself as a strategic hydrogen transit corridor are facing direct competition from an offshore alternative that could bypass the country entirely and reshape regional clean energy investment flows.

China’s battery sector is entering a new competitive phase as manufacturers search for alternatives to lithium-based chemistries amid rising resource pressure, geopolitical supply concerns, and intensifying demand for stationary storage.