All-iron flow battery system manufacturer Energy Storage Systems (ESS) has outlined plans to expand into the African market, targeting microgrid and utility-scale projects.
Oregon-based ESS has become the first flow battery manufacturer to join the US-backed Power Africa programme, which works with governments, agencies and private companies to develop power-generating infrastructure in electricity-starved sub-Saharan Africa.
ESS founder and CEO Craig Evans said the company’s battery technology is “especially suited to the needs of the African market, particularly in microgrid, renewable integration and utility grid strengthening applications”.
ESS is a private sector member of Power Africa, which aims to add more than 30,000MW of “cleaner, more efficient electricity generation capacity” in the region and help more than 60 million new homes and businesses connect to reliable supplies of power.
In 2018, ESS made its first foray into the Latin American market and made its debut in Europe under a contract with German chemicals group BASF.
