Blue Whale Energy & UNIGRID, INC. partners to tackle solar installation problems

Southeast Asia’s virtual power plant Blue Whale Energy has partnered with UNIGRID, INC. - an advanced sodium-ion battery innovator. According to the sources, this partnership will be preparing tailored solutions for dense urban environments problem of solar installation, with their innovative behind-the-meter commercial and industrial (C&I) battery energy storage system (BESS).

• Blue whale Energy partners with UNIGRID, INC. to prepare tailored solutions for solar installation problems in dense urban environments
• Blue Whale Energy will be installing compact and modular battery packs
• UNIGRID, INC. will be assisting the energy company by including thermal management in the packs to avoid fire breakouts

Due to technological advancements, environmental awareness, government facilitation, decreasing cost and other factors solar installation rates have seen a significant increase in the past few years, it is expected to increase up to 225 GW by the end of 2025. However such installation can be difficult in dense urban environments due to its limited space limits.

Blue Whale and UNIGRID, INC. will be collaborating to deliver tailored solutions to this problem. Blue Whale Energy will be assisting in installing compact and modular battery packs directly beneath solar panels. This operation can be dangerous as proximity can cause fire risks, due to the traditional lithium-ion batteries. Hence, UNIGRID, INC. will be assisting the energy company with more safer and operational products by including thermal management in the product.

Founder and CEO of Blue Whale Energy, Gabriel Lim said, “With UNIGRID’s sodium-ion platform, we can deploy energy storage directly where energy is needed- on commercial and industrial rooftops throughout urban cities where space constraints previously made installations unfeasible. This allows us to turn every roof into a dispatchable grid asset. This technology is a game changer for us.”

CEO of UNIGRID Battery, Darren H. S. Tan said, “We’re proud to support Blue Whale in building Southeast Asia’s virtual power plant network, powered by distributed renewable energy and safe storage. Such an approach allows us to open up new and untapped market opportunities in the BESS world.”

At present only 8 MWh of sodium-ion solar-plus-storage systems are planned to be installed. After 2026, this partnership will be expanding its operation, focusing wholly on Southeast Asia.