Blue Whale Energy, a virtual power plant developer headquartered in Southeast Asia, has joined forces with UNIGRID, Inc., a U.S.-based sodium-ion battery innovator, to deploy behind-the-meter commercial and industrial (C&I) battery energy storage systems across dense urban areas in the region. Announced June 25, 2025, the partnership aims to integrate compact sodium-ion batteries directly beneath rooftop solar installations, overcoming space and safety challenges that have limited conventional lithium-ion deployments in crowded city environments.
As solar capacity expands and electricity grids contend with the variability of renewable generation, pairing PV assets with energy storage is increasingly critical for meeting peak demand. However, urban rooftops often lack the space and allowable setback distances required for large, containerized lithium-ion systems, which also require extensive thermal management and fire-suppression infrastructure. UNIGRID’s sodium-ion chemistry operates across a wide temperature range without active cooling, and its intrinsic safety profile reduces engineering, procurement and construction complexity and cost.
“This technology is a game changer for us,” said Gabriel Lim, Founder and CEO of Blue Whale Energy. “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.”
“We’re proud to support Blue Whale in building Southeast Asia’s virtual power plant network, powered by distributed renewable energy and safe storage,” said Darren H. S. Tan, CEO of UNIGRID Battery. “Such an approach allows us to open up new and untapped market opportunities in the BESS world.”
Under the agreement, Blue Whale Energy will install an initial 8 MWh of sodium-ion solar-plus-storage systems by the end of 2025. Beginning in 2026, the partners plan to scale deployments throughout Southeast Asia, supporting the region’s energy transition with flexible, fire-safe C&I storage solutions tailored to dense urban settings.
Source: PR Newswire
