Solar energy is evolving from pure capacity expansion to smarter systems, with inverters and batteries managing power flows, supporting grids, and improving self-consumption as well as flexibility
Rising midday solar peaks, curtailment, and negative prices – especially in Europe – are driving strong growth in battery energy storage
Fully integrated inverter-storage systems, modular designs, strong safety standards, cybersecurity, and advanced EMS are becoming critical to reduce costs and improve reliability, stressed the speakers
Often referred to as the brain and backbone of solar energy, inverters and battery storage are not just must-haves for solar energy, but have today evolved into intelligent, multi-tasking hubs. They provide important grid services, meet electrification needs, while managing power flows in real time.
To understand how these enable the next phase of market growth, TaiyangNews brought together experts across the inverters and storage businesses to the 2nd edition of its Inverters & Battery Storage Conference on December 16, 2025.
TaiyangNews Managing Director Michael Schmela set the stage when he opened the conference by highlighting solar energy’s growing global share and the shift from volume-driven growth to smarter generation.
Referring to SolarPower Europe’s EU Solar Market Outlook 2025-2030, he pointed to the rising midday solar peaks that are lowering capture rates and increasing the need for battery storage. He added that market momentum is moving from behind-the-meter rooftop systems toward front-of-the-meter demand. This trend is supported by wider use of smart inverters and energy management systems that enable self-consumption, aggregation, and grid integration.
Echoing the growing role of battery storage for solar, keynote speaker Hank Zhao, the CTO of CATL, presented the company’s battery energy storage solutions (BESS) for the European market, emphasizing safety, quality, and reliability.
Zhao shared that CATL has deployed more than 2,000 ESS projects globally with zero incidents, thanks to its adherence to more than 7,000 quality control checkpoints and extensive in-house testing.
He also outlined CATL’s manufacturing and testing capabilities, including 3 global lighthouse factories. At its UL Solutions-certified in-house lab, CATL conducts monthly testing of 70,000 cells, 2,200 modules, 600 battery cabinets, and 8 full-size containers.
Zhao highlighted rapid growth in Europe’s BESS market, with 21.9 GWh installed in 2024, comprising 79% of the total. In 2025, the newly installed capacity is expected to reach 29.7 GWh, a 36% year-on-year increase driven mainly by utility-scale projects that are likely to account for 55% of the increase.
As Europe is a strategic market for CATL, the company has developed solutions that can be transported and adapted to the region’s infrastructure constraints, such as noise limits and legacy structures. Zhao specifically showcased CATL’s 6 MWh Tener-S system with ‘no-degradation’ technology. It requires 20% less cells and 60% less racks. The product is already being delivered in Europe.
CATL’s Tener-Stack, designed to reduce land use, promises high-performance 565 Ah cells and 9 MWh energy with high adaptability. The company plans to introduce further upgraded products from 2026, and also plans to launch a high-voltage grid connection testing lab with real grid integration in 2026.
In light of European battery regulations, Zhao shared that CATL subsidiary Brunp operates 7 recycling bases worldwide, achieving recovery rates of 99.6% for key metals and 91% for lithium.
RCT Solutions CEO Peter Fath said the renewable energy inverter market is growing strongly due to technology advances and rising demand. Supportive government incentives are also boosting inverter market expansion.
Fath stressed the expanding role of inverters across residential, commercial & industrial (C&I), and utility-scale systems. He noted that string inverters dominate the market today, while microinverters are the fastest-growing segment. Geographically, North America is the largest market, while Asia-Pacific is the fastest growing.
Emphasizing the need to integrate batteries with inverters, Fath stressed that inverters are the central interface between PV generation, battery storage, and the grid. Future systems will move toward fully integrated solutions combining power electronics, battery management systems, and energy management systems to reduce costs and losses.
He also underlined the importance of optimizing inverter efficiency across all operating modes and power levels, including low-load conditions, to improve overall system performance and savings.
Urging the market to take cybersecurity seriously, Fath warned that it will become a critical issue going forward. He urged inverter makers to enable safe internet disconnection so that the control of energy infrastructure, especially in Europe, remains local. He added that stricter regulations will make regional manufacturing increasingly important for inverter suppliers worldwide.
Jinko ESS Product Manager Khalid Mannan presented the SunGiga G2, a 261 kWh liquid-cooled LFP energy storage system (ESS) for the C&I segment. Compared with the previous generation, it features a more compact, highly integrated design that combines the HV battery and PCS, reducing footprint by 10%. It increases energy density while lowering costs.
The system improves performance with patented temperature management, an added control zone, and a 33% increase in cycle life to 8,000 cycles. It offers higher round-trip efficiency, lower auxiliary consumption, and supports both on- and off-grid operation, with up to 12 units scalable to 3 MW. It can be used to create a microgrid.
SunGiga G2 is designed for extreme weather and faster deployment through factory pre-installation and pre-commissioning, explained Mannan. It includes multi-layer safety and fire protection, advanced monitoring from cell to system level, and extensive testing to validate thermal, electrical, and structural safety.
For the European market, Jinko ESS plans full-stack self-developed systems with cybersecurity controls supported by servers located in Europe, he added.
HyperStrong Solutions Engineer Luis Manuel Haya Carballo presented the company’s integrated BESS offerings for Europe, focusing on investment, logistics, and footprint challenges.
In this part of the world, he said that customers remain concerned about high LCOS, fire risks, reliability, and heavy utility-scale systems that increase transport costs and limit port access. Even with standard dimensions of around a 20-foot container, such storage products weigh about 40 tons on average.
To address these issues, HyperStrong has introduced its energy storage 3.0 portfolio, led by the HyperBlock M product. The solution is designed to lower LCOS, simplify operations and maintenance, extend system lifecycle, and reduce logistics constraints.
He emphasized that HyperBlock M supports flexible land, rail, and maritime transport, enabling deployment even in regions with infrastructure limitations. The system delivers up to 6.4 MWh in a 20-foot configuration, reduces the number of devices and connection points, and significantly cuts the footprint compared with previous designs.
Available in both DC and AC versions, it targets multiple applications and benefits from cloud-based control, a user-friendly O&M platform, and a large-scale cell supply partnership, with logistics and energy density identified as the key problems being addressed.
Carballo stressed that HyperStrong leads in energy density with its 10-foot BESS unit, delivering 3.2 MWh of capacity. The product’s modular architecture enables a highly efficient 76.8 MWh deployment within a compact 37 x 5m (185 m²) footprint, utilizing side-to-side and back-to-back configurations to maximize land-use efficiency for utility-scale projects, he added.
Referring to rising EU blackout risks and negative power prices caused by PV oversupply to stress the growing demand for storage, SigEnergy Senior Account Manager Sebastian Feges presented SigenStack, a modular, DC-coupled energy storage system for C&I and utility applications.
SigenStack is designed to overcome the complexity, lower efficiency, and high operating costs of traditional cabinet and container-based ESS, explained Feges. The system enables direct PV connection, supports PV-only, PV plus storage, and microgrid applications, and allows flexible capacity expansion through a modular design.
Feges highlighted faster installation, reduced devices and wiring, and lower CapEx and OpEx with its system offering. For instance, he shared that a 20 MWh SigenStack system can be installed in about 10 days, compared with around 60 days for conventional container ESS. Enhanced safety features and support for higher DC/AC ratios aim to improve reliability and revenue potential, he added.
Andrea Praticò, Director of Sales Europe at Canadian Solar, presented the company’s EP Cube as an all-in-one energy storage solution for residential and C&I applications. Developed following Canadian Solar’s 2021 investment in Eternalplanet Co., EP Cube was introduced in 2022 to support efficient management of solar generation, energy storage, and electricity use, with the aim of lowering power costs and carbon emissions.
The system integrates a hybrid inverter, emergency power supply, and stackable battery modules in a compact, plug-and-play design. Each battery module offers up to 5 kWh capacity and weighs under 42 kg, enabling easy transport and installation, according to Praticò.
EP Cube is compatible with both new and existing PV systems, including setups using microinverters, optimizers, and EV charging, he added. Designed for flexibility and performance, EP Cube features 4 independent MPPTs, supports complex PV layouts, and allows string start-up with as few as 2 panels, according to Praticò.
The system is scalable from 7.6 kW to 60 kW and up to 200 kWh of storage, using a single product platform. The simplified design, he said, enables faster installation, helping installers reduce costs and improve productivity.
The conference ended with a panel discussion on the critical role of inverters and batteries in building more resilient and responsive solar-based energy systems. Moderated by TaiyangNews Managing Director Michael Schmela, the discussion with Andrea Praticò, Canadian Solar’s Director Sales Europe, and HyperStrong’s Solutions Engineer, Luis Manuel Haya Carballo, revolved around how inverters and battery storage are changing solar system intelligence for homes, businesses, and the grid.
Both panelists cited permitting, grid connections, curtailment, and the lack of clear financial frameworks as key challenges for customers.
Carballo noted that without proper planning, solar oversupply and connection constraints can reduce project value. This underlines the importance of viewing batteries as financial assets, not just technology.
Praticò explained that residential users often see solar mainly for self-consumption and overlook the wider role of batteries in optimizing energy use. On the other hand, the C&I segment, while slower to grow than utility-scale projects, is starting to gain momentum.
Falling costs, improved safety, and modular, compact designs are making smaller storage systems viable and easier to deploy. Both speakers emphasized the importance of energy management systems (EMS). Smart control of loads such as heat pumps, cooling systems, and EV charging improves returns and enables better interaction with the grid. They concluded that closer coordination with grid operators and more mature financial models will be essential to fully unlock the value of distributed storage.
TaiyangNews will be back with more insightful webinars and conferences in 2026, starting with a webinar on Solar & Storage Market 2025 Review & 2026 Outlook on January 13, 2026. Details will be available on the website soon.
Additionally, TaiyangNews is also getting ready to host Solar Technology Conference India 2026 (STC.I 2026) on February 5-6, 2026. A physical conference, it will bring together leading solar PV manufacturers and stakeholders from India to understand how the industry will scale and sustain the Giga-Scale PV manufacturing ecosystem. Registrations are open here.