The joint venture, 51% held by Wanxiang and 49% held by NEC, is scheduled to begin initial business activities later this year. Its formation is an important element of the recently announced NEC acquisition of A123 Energy Solutions. Wanxiang and NEC concluded that the best way to prosper in China’s developing market for grid energy storage is to pursue it jointly. Initially the joint venture will focus on market development of the best applications for its technology.

A123 Energy Solutions has commissioned two installations of its Grid Storage Solution (GSS) product line in China in recent months.

• The first, a containerized 2MW HR (High Rate) GSS located in Beijing, performs frequency regulation and is in commercial service, operated by Ray Power Systems Co. Ltd.

• The second is a building-based 500kW HR GSS located in Hangzhou and is operated by Dongfang Electric Machinery Co. Ltd., to help integrate on-site renewable generation including wind and solar as well as traditional combustion generation at the site’s microgrid.

China, with its growing infrastructure needs, has some of the largest public works projects in the world related to power generation and transmission, and has installed large amounts of renewable generation that could benefit greatly from the introduction of large-scale energy storage alongside traditional grid assets.

Wanxiang Group is China’s largest automotive components manufacturer, and a conglomerate with more than US$23 billion in revenue covering businesses including financial services, clean energy, agricultural products, international trading, natural resources, and other areas.

Puxing Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Wanxiang Holding Co., was founded in 2002, in Shanghai, China, and is dedicated to clean energy development in China. Since its inception, Puxing Energy has built up a significant energy portfolio including natural gas power plants and wind farms.