Higher Power PV Modules Drive Up BOS Costs

Stryten Energy LLC, a U.S.-based energy storage solutions provider, announced the launch of its new E-Series AGM160 and E-Series AGM190 multi‑terminal batteries, designed for long life and high performance in demanding telecommunications and electric utility applications.

What are the features of the AGM160/190 batteries?

The AGM batteries support extended discharge applications where durability, consistency and uptime are critical. The batteries are maintenance-free, support rapid charge, and offer up to 80% depth of discharge without compromising performance.

The AGM batteries are available with front and top terminal options, providing enhanced flexibility during installation and maintenance. The sealed, spill-proof design allows the batteries to be mounted in any orientation, making them an ideal solution for cabinet enclosures and standard relay rack trays.

What are the use cases for the E-Series AGM160/190 batteries?

Stryten Energy’s E-Series AGM batteries are designed for long life and high performance in:

• Telecommunications: Wireless, Broadband, Signaling, Distributed Power, Customer Premise Equipment
• Electric Utility: Switchgear Control Power, SCADA, Industrial UPS

Two models are now available:

“Telecom and utility environments can be harsh. Stryten Energy’s new AGM multi-terminal batteries are built to withstand harsh environments and ensure critical infrastructures are available,” said Matt Gould, Vice President, Industrial Sales and Service. “The launch of these network power batteries reflects Stryten Energy’s extensive experience and leadership in valve‑regulated lead‑acid (VRLA) battery technology.”

For more information, visit the E-Series AGM160/190 web page.

Stryten Energy | www.stryten.com

AVILOO, the global leader in independent battery diagnostics for electric vehicles officially announced the appointment of Brett Lippel as CEO of AVILOO Northern America. Lippel is now formally introduced in this leadership position as he drives AVILOO’s strategic growth and the nationwide adoption of its advanced battery testing technology.

As the U.S. EV market continues to grow rapidly - particularly the used‑EV segment - trust and transparency around battery health have become critical factors for consumers, dealerships, remarketers, and fleet operators. AVILOO offers the industry’s first manufacturer‑independent, validated battery diagnostic, providing an accurate assessment of an EV battery’s real condition rather than relying solely on Battery Management System (BMS) data.

AVILOO Global CEO Marcus Berger emphasized the importance of Lippel’s appointment in this phase of expansion, noting that the company has found “a proven expert from the automotive sector” who brings not only deep market knowledge but extensive industry relations. “We are truly excited that we were able to bring on board a proven expert from the automotive industry with Brett. We can see how passionately he takes on this mission, and we are confident that thanks to his know‑how and dedication, we will make a decisive step toward realizing our goals in the United States” , Berger said.

Lippel’s first weeks in the role have already been marked by extensive engagement with keyindustry stakeholders. Reflecting on his new responsibilities, he explained that stepping into the position has only strengthened his belief in AVILOO’s impact: “This new responsibility isincredibly exciting, and I’m glad to be part of the outstanding AVILOO team. I am one hundredpercent convinced by the product, and I believe our independent battery certificate is exactly thetool the industry needs to sustainably revolutionize the used EV market in the coming years. ”

Driving Trust and Transparency in the Used-EV Market

With over 20 years of leadership experience across automotive, mobility, fintech, logistics, and SaaS, Lippel brings a strong background in scaling organizations, building nationwide partnerships, and leading high‑performance teams. He has previously held senior roles including SVP at ShipYourCarNow.com, CEO of Lendgistics, and President of Midway Auto Group, and was part of the early leadership team at TrueCar during its rapid growth phase.In his new role at AVILOO, Lippel intends to leverage his broad network and operational expertise to accelerate the availability of AVILOO’s independent battery testing across dealerships, fleets, remarketing partners, and OEMs. His mission is to establish independent battery diagnostics as a new national standard of trust in EV transactions.

AVILOO | https://aviloo.com/en-us/

GridStor, a developer and operator of utility-scale battery energy storage systems, and Axpo, a leading international energy company headquartered in Switzerland, announced the execution of an Energy Storage Agreement with the Hidden Lakes Reliability Project, a 220 MW, 440 MWh battery energy storage system located in Galveston County, Texas, which began operations in 4Q2025.

In brief:

• GridStor and Axpo have executed an Energy Storage Agreement for the Hidden Lakes Reliability Project, a 220 MW, 440 MWh battery storage system in Galveston County, Texas.
• The partnership enhances pricing stability for Houston residents and businesses.
• The transaction demonstrates an innovative, financeable solution for battery storage operators and energy companies.

"We are proud to work alongside Axpo to support long-term pricing predictability for Houston residents and businesses," said Chris Taylor, CEO of GridStor. "Our collaboration with Axpo to develop a bespoke transaction structure that unlocks financing for battery storage also contributes to more stable retail electricity rates for customers."

Lance Titus, Chief Commercial Officer of GridStor, added: "This structure marks a major advancement in risk management product development and sets a strong precedent for financeable solutions for the energy storage industry. Meeting the needs of counterparties with creativity and strong transaction execution is core to how we approach our customers and clients - we are proud to be a trusted provider to Axpo."

The 100 MW bespoke agreement backed by GridStor's Hidden Lakes Reliability Project enables Axpo to pass price predictability through to Houston retail customers. The Hidden Lakes project began operations in the fourth quarter of 2025. 

Shimon Schaff, Origination Director at Axpo in the U.S., said: "At Axpo, our mission is to help customers achieve their desired energy risk profiles through tailored solutions. Our platform is built to give our customers and industry partners direct access to our trading capabilities and resources. We look forward to deepening our cooperation with GridStor in ERCOT and beyond." 

Backed by Goldman Sachs Asset Management, GridStor manages 530 MW, 1,300 MWh of battery energy storage assets in operation and construction, as well as a pipeline of over 3 GW of battery storage projects in later-stage development across the western and central U.S. The company is focused on executing and delivering projects that provide cost-effective, near-term solutions to utilities, data centers, and other large industrial customers in regions with rapidly growing energy demand.

Axpo Group is a leading international energy company headquartered in Switzerland. In the US, Axpo focuses on the supply of energy and risk management solutions to consumers, producers, and retailers of electricity and natural gas.

Axpo | https://www.axpo.com/us/en.html

GridStor | www.gridstor.com

Schneider Electric, a global energy technology leader, is deepening its collaboration with Microsoft to help make it easier for industrial companies to modernize their operations, break free from proprietary legacy systems and deploy AI-powered automation at scale. 

At the heart of this collaboration is a conviction that industrial automation is overdue for the same open, software-driven transformation that reshaped enterprise IT. Today, most factories and energy plants still run on hardware-locked control systems that are expensive to update, slow to adapt and difficult to extend with Industrial AI. Schneider Electric is building the technology that showcases a better alternative exists. 

In collaboration with h2e POWER, an Indian green hydrogen pioneer, the two companies have deployed India’s first fully autonomous solid oxide electrolyzer system, empowering operators to shift their focus from routine monitoring to more strategic, high-impact work. The system has surpassed 6,000 hours of stable operation in part- and full-load conditions and has demonstrated just-in-time predictive maintenance and promise in cutting electricity consumption by up to 10%, in a process where electricity accounts for more than 70% of total hydrogen production cost. 

A Collaboration Built to End Legacy Drag 

The Schneider Electric collaboration with Microsoft combines Schneider Electric’s role as a global energy technology partner and pioneer of open, software‑defined automation with Microsoft Azure cloud, AI, and edge infrastructure. The goal is a practical, vendor-neutral path for industrial companies to modernize without scrapping existing investments or halting production. 

Central to this is the Industrial Copilot, which extends intelligence to the edge using Microsoft Azure’s cloud and AI services approach for local inference and reinforcement. It automates the engineering tasks that slow modernization most: writing control logic, configuring systems, and navigating documentation. Engineering teams using it report up to 50% time savings, with production line changes that once took weeks now completed in hours. 

Underlying everything is Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure Automation Expert, the world’s first open, software-defined automation platform. By separating software from hardware, it lets customers run and reuse their automation applications across different equipment, vendors, and generations of infrastructure. Microsoft Azure provides the secure cloud and edge backbone that connects it all, from individual sensors to enterprise dashboards. 

Together, the two companies are offering something the industrial world has lacked: a migration path that meets organizations where they are, not where they “should be.” 

Proving It in the Field: Green Hydrogen with h2e POWER 

Green hydrogen is central to global decarbonization plans; however, producing it cheaply and reliably at scale remains a challenge. Solid oxide electrolyzers (SOECs) offer the highest efficiency of any hydrogen production technology, but their operating conditions are so demanding that it has been difficult to maintain equitable net energy consumption and operate them autonomously. 

h2e POWER, an India-originated green tech company based in Pune with operations in India, Germany and the USA, had exactly this challenge. Its SOEC system is technically superior, but limited real-time visibility and the absence of open, scalable automation were pushing operating costs well above design targets.  

Working with Schneider Electric, they deployed a new AI-powered control solution on h2e POWER’s 20 kW SOEC system. The solution continuously monitors and adjusts the electrolyzer in real time, managing thermal balance, hydrogen flow, energy inputs, and safety and equipment health, remotely. 

The results speak to both the technology and the collaborative approach. Energy efficiency improved, stack wear was significantly reduced, and the levelized cost of hydrogen, the industry’s key economic metric, fell by up to 10%, equivalent to around €500,000 per year for a typical 10 MW plant. The system has now run for more than 6,000 hours, making it one of the most durable autonomous electrolyzer demonstrations in India, and probably anywhere in the world. 

Schneider Electric | https://www.se.com/ww/en/

h2e POWER | https://www.h2epower.net/

Origis Energy, one of America’s leading clean energy platforms, announced the closing of $118M in tax equity financing from RBC Community Investments (“RBC”) for the Chalan Solar + Storage project in Kern County, California. Origis Energy is constructing and will own and operate the 65 MWac solar and 25 MW / 100 MWh battery energy storage facility, which is expected to achieve commercial operation in Q4 2026. The project’s output is contracted under a 20-year power purchase agreement with Pioneer Community Energy, a not-for-profit community choice electricity provider headquartered in Rocklin, California, serving customers across Placer and El Dorado counties.

“We are delighted to partner with RBC to bring another high-quality solar and storage project to the grid and deliver reliable, cost-effective clean energy to Pioneer’s customers and communities,” said Alice Heathcote, Chief Financial Officer of Origis Energy. “This transaction underscores the strength of our platform – from development through financing – and our ability to attract top-tier capital partners as we continue to scale.”

“RBC’s investment in the Chalan solar and storage project demonstrates our longstanding and continued commitment to the clean energy transition,” said Jonathan Cheng, Managing Director and Head of RBC’s Renewable Energy Tax Equity Investments. “We are excited to partner with Origis on this transaction and look forward to collaborating on future projects.”

Origis Energy | www.origisenergy.com

RBC Community Investments | www.rbccm.com/communityinvestments

Connecticut’s clean energy industry continued its strong growth in 2024, reaching record employment levels and reinforcing its role as a key driver of economic growth and job creation across the state, according to the newly released 2025 Connecticut Clean Energy Industry Report.

The report finds that clean energy employment grew 2.8 percent from 2023 to 2024, adding more than 1,200 jobs and bringing total clean energy employment to nearly 47,300 workers statewide. Clean energy job growth was four times faster than overall statewide employment growth, accounting for more than 10 percent of all net job growth in Connecticut over that period.

“Connecticut’s clean energy economy continues to deliver real results for workers, businesses, and communities across the state,” said Brenda Watson, Chair of the Joint Committee of the Energy Efficiency Board and Connecticut Green Bank. “These findings confirm that investments in clean energy are also investments in economic growth, competitiveness, and good-paying jobs.”

Clean Energy Delivers $7 Billion to Connecticut’s Economy

Beyond job growth, the clean energy sector generated approximately $7.0 billion in Gross Regional Product (GRP) in 2024, representing 2.4 percent of Connecticut’s total economic output. Manufacturing, construction, and professional services drove much of this impact, underscoring the sector’s expanding role across the state’s supply chains.

Construction activity within clean energy became significantly more productive in 2024, with the sector’s economic output increasing nearly 9 percent year over year, even as employment levels held steady, which suggests a shift toward higher‑value, more capital‑intensive projects, or more efficient clean energy construction projects.

Energy Efficiency Leads, While Emerging Sectors Accelerate

Energy efficiency remained the backbone of Connecticut’s clean energy workforce, supporting more than 36,000 jobs, or nearly 77 percent of all clean energy employment. Job growth was particularly strong in high‑efficiency HVAC, renewable heating and cooling, and advanced building materials.

At the same time, emerging sectors showed rapid acceleration:

• Clean Grid and Energy Storage recorded the fastest growth rate of any clean energy sector, expanding 6.6 percent year over year and surpassing a milestone of 1,000 workers statewide. This growth was led primarily by Clean Storage.
• Clean energy manufacturing employment grew more than 8 percent, reflecting growing in‑state supply‑chain activity.
• Wholesale trade jobs tied to clean energy rose nearly 12 percent, pointing to a robust project pipeline and continued investment momentum.

Clean Energy Growth Reaches Every Corner of the State

Clean energy employment grew across all regions of Connecticut in 2024. New London County posted the fastest growth rate, while Fairfield County added the largest number of new clean energy jobs. Hartford, Fairfield, and New Haven counties together accounted for more than three‑quarters of the state’s clean energy workforce, demonstrating the industry’s broad geographic footprint.

Policy Leadership Supporting Jobs and Competitiveness

The report highlights how Connecticut’s clean energy and climate policies continue to support workforce demand, infrastructure investment, and long‑term economic competitiveness. Recent actions focused on energy efficiency, grid modernization, energy storage, and clean transportation are helping position Connecticut as a regional leader in the clean energy economy.

The 2025 Connecticut Clean Energy Industry Report was commissioned by the Connecticut General Assembly’s Joint Committee and produced by BW Research Partnership, with support from the Connecticut Green Bank, Eversource, and United Illuminating. Employment data are drawn from the U.S. Department of Energy’s U.S. Energy and Employment Report.

Connecticut Green Bank | www.ctgreenbank.com/strategy-impact/societal-impact/

GameChange Solar, a leading global supplier of solar tracker and fixed-tilt racking technology, announced it has been ranked #7 out of 250 companies, and the top-rated tracker manufacturer, on TIME's list of America's Top GreenTech Companies of 2026.

Published by TIME in partnership with Statista, the annual ranking recognizes the top 250 U.S.-based companies driving innovation and measurable impact in sustainability. Companies are evaluated based on positive environmental impact, financial strength, and innovation, following an analysis of more than 3,500 organizations nationwide.

"We're proud to be included on this list alongside so many companies pushing real innovation in clean energy," said Phillip Vyhanek, CEO of GameChange Solar. "Being named among the top GreenTech companies in the United States, and ranked #7 overall, reflects our team's passion for delivering high-performance solar solutions that are advancing the transition to clean energy globally."

"For us, this goes back to our mission to 'Repower the Planet' by making solar power more affordable and accessible at scale," said Andrew Worden, Founder and Executive Chairman of GameChange Solar. "Being recognized as the highest-ranked tracker company on this list reflects both the strength of our solutions and the important role advanced tracking plays in maximizing solar energy generation."

The recognition comes at a time of rapid growth in the renewable energy sector, as demand for clean power surges alongside increasing electrification and energy needs across industries.

The full list of America's Top GreenTech Companies of 2026 is available on TIME.

GameChange Solar | www.gamechangesolar.com