Is Huawei really building the world’s biggest battery?
Business & Technology
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Gutted by U.S. sanctions and rejected by Europe, Huawei has tried pivoting to every industry it can:
- The erstwhile smartphone giant’s latest move is from handheld batteries to massive, solar-powered cells that are independent from the power grid.
- Working for Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Project, an uber-luxurious tourist development, Huawei will build what it claims to be the world’s biggest energy storage facility.
However: Oddly, that may not be true. A facility in California is also vying for the title of world’s biggest, and the numbers are in its favor:
- Energy company Vistra’s installation in Monterey County has a capacity of 400 megawatt/1,600 megawatt-hours — enough to power 300,000 homes.
- The Huawei project has a lower capacity of 400 megawatt/1,300 megawatt-hours.
The takeaway: Huawei’s claim may be overblown, but the scale of the battery project is undeniably impressive; the company’s efforts to stay alive seem to be paying off.
