/daily ·09 JUL 2026 ·THURSDAY ·3 MIN READ ·7 STORIES

The grid bottleneck, the cell plant, and the inverter ban

China''s share of the global battery storage market hits 76%, a European inverter restriction puts 14% of EU solar demand at risk, and Honda and LG start making battery cells in Ohio.

01 / The Day

THURSDAY 09 JUL 2026, ranked

China''s BESS integrators now hold 76% of the global storage market

Research shows Chinese system integrators — led by CATL, BYD, and Sungrow — held 76% of global battery energy storage system market share in 2025, a year-on-year gain driven by aggressive pricing and project financing. No Korean firm appears in the top-10 BESS cell supplier list for the first time.

Why it matters76% market concentration restructures everything downstream: what alternative procurement looks like, what insurance terms require, and how government industrial policy tries to create alternatives.

01 energy-storage.news↗

EU funding rules to exclude high-risk inverters from 14% of EU solar demand to 2030

Wood Mackenzie forecasts that EU funding restrictions targeting solar inverters from China and other high-risk-classified nations will affect approximately 28 GWdc of European solar capacity through 2030 — about 14% of total demand. The restriction extends to co-located battery storage, potentially affecting 12% of EU BESS deployments.

Why it mattersEU solar policy has split the supply chain: approved inverters at a premium versus non-fundable Chinese equipment at a discount — every European project developer now has a compliance calculation to run before ordering.

02 pv-magazine.com↗

Honda-LG Energy Solution joint venture begins ESS cell production in Ohio

L-H Battery Company — the Honda and LG Energy Solution joint venture — began lithium-ion cell production at its Jeffersonville, Ohio facility, targeting both automotive and stationary energy storage applications. The dual-use plant architecture allows flexibility between EV and grid-storage cell formats as demand shifts between markets.

Why it mattersA dual-use US battery cell plant adds domestic supply capacity in both the formats that Western buyers are trying to de-risk from Chinese supply chains, and demonstrates that EV and ESS demand can productively share manufacturing infrastructure.

03 energy-storage.news↗

One-third of India''s new renewable capacity is being curtailed by grid constraints

ICRA estimates that approximately one-third of India''s recently commissioned renewable energy capacity faces curtailment because transmission infrastructure has not kept pace with generation additions. Solar curtailment peaks at 50-60% during daylight hours in Rajasthan and Gujarat — the two states responsible for most new capacity.

Why it mattersIndia is running the world''s largest new clean-energy build, and a third of the investment sits idle. This is the canonical argument for why transmission must lead generation rather than follow it.

04 pv-magazine.com↗

UK grants development consent to 1.2 GW of solar including 740 MW One Earth project

The UK government granted development consent to three large solar sites: the 740 MW One Earth Solar Farm, the 320 MW Peartree Hill, and the 150 MW Dean Moor, each with co-located battery storage. The approvals come ahead of the eighth Contracts for Difference allocation round and establish a clear pipeline for developers.

Why it matters740 MW in a single consent is a scale the UK has not previously approved; three concurrent large-site approvals in one announcement signals a deliberate acceleration of the planning queue.

05 pv-magazine.com↗

Unigrid launches sodium-ion residential battery with 10,000-cycle rated lifespan

Unigrid launched Na+Casa, a 9.25 kWh sodium-ion residential battery rated for 10,000 cycles and using passive thermal management — eliminating the active cooling system that adds cost and failure points to competing lithium-iron-phosphate home storage products. European installations are under way; US availability is targeted for late 2026.

Why it matters10,000 cycles at residential scale means the battery outlasts its own payback period rather than needing replacement before it has paid for itself — the chemistry shift changes residential storage economics.

06 pv-magazine.com↗

Fleet of 50 sailing ships to produce green hydrogen at sea using subsurface turbines

A project outlined by CleanTechnica will deploy more than 50 purpose-built sailing vessels equipped with subsurface wind turbines powering onboard electrolysers to produce hydrogen directly from seawater while underway, avoiding fixed offshore infrastructure costs. The approach targets locations where offshore wind installations and port hydrogen infrastructure do not yet exist.

Why it mattersIf the production cost math works at commercial scale, this solves the stranded-generation problem: green hydrogen from abundant offshore wind without waiting for transmission cables or port terminals.

07 cleantechnica.com↗

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/SAT 01 AUGThe Heat Is the Story /FRI 31 JULCalifornia hits 51% monthly solar; China sets record targets /THU 30 JULThe Billion-Dollar Build Edition /WED 29 JULWednesday, 29 July — Sodium-ion arrives; Australia breaks records /TUE 28 JULMalaysia orders the grid; Australia scales the cell /MON 27 JULA Solar Farm Becomes a Data Centre, Wisconsin Campaigns Against Solar, and LONGi Breaks the Tandem Efficiency Record /SUN 26 JULThe Build-Out Accelerates /SAT 25 JULUS battery storage breaks Q1 record; China tightens polysilicon /FRI 24 JULShock and Shine /WED 22 JUL194 gigawatts and a record solar cell /TUE 21 JULStorage everywhere, blockages everywhere /SUN 19 JULTwo US LFP milestones, one weekend /SAT 18 JULOvercapacity meets the taxman /FRI 17 JULFriday in Energy: Sodium Scales, Silicon Shines /WED 15 JULRecords fall, costs diverge /MON 13 JULSolid-state gets a quality stamp /SAT 11 JULThe grid just got bigger /FRI 10 JULSodium, Zinc, and CO2: Storage Diversifies Its Chemistry /THU 09 JULThe grid bottleneck, the cell plant, and the inverter ban /WED 08 JULLDES lands, sodium-ion signs 60 GWh, and US solar manufacturing hits 3 GW /TUE 07 JULSodium Goes Commercial