After taking a majority stake in Italy’s PotisEdge, Longi says it aims to become an integrated “solar-storage-hydrogen energy solutions provider.”

Technical details remain unclear, but the Chinese firm has suggested it will develop “closed loop” systems by combining its solar PV and alkaline electrolyser technologies with PotisEdge’s BESS.

“Solar is the creator of clean energy, energy storage is the stabiliser of the power system, and hydrogen is the regulator that balances it all,” said Longi Vice-President Dennis She.

PotisEdge makes battery-based storage systems for residential, commercial, and grid-level applications, as well as energy management systems. Longi claimed this will provide “solid technical support” for its energy storage solutions.

Efforts are initially expected to focus on European markets like the UK, Germany, Italy, and Spain, with a technical centre already set up in the region.

“Europe’s urgent need for energy transition and its mature market mechanisms provide an ideal platform for practising integrated solar-storage-hydrogen solutions,” She added.

Electrolytic hydrogen is often positioned as a key energy storage mechanism due to its ability to offer long-duration and seasonal storage to balance fluctuations in renewable energy.

By combining this with batteries, which are typically used for short-term storage, Longi will be looking to provide a comprehensive system to meet a range of use cases.

It will pose technical challenges, however. Integrating solar, batteries, and hydrogen is challenging because the three technologies have different timescales, operating requirements, and economic profiles.

In September, Californian utility Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) launched its hybrid battery-fuel cell microgrid system for emergency power during periods of grid outages.

However, unlike Longi’s proposal, PG&E’s installation does not produce hydrogen onsite and requires hydrogen to be delivered.