Relative line thickness indicates the strength of a partnership—the thicker the line, the closer the relationship. These line thicknesses were developed using the total amount of capacity deployed as tracked in the Lux Research Grid Storage Tracker (client registration required), as well as publicly available partnership information. Click to enlarge.

The “Lux Take” on several of the leading partnerships, particularly of note to automotive:

• Panasonic – Positive. Signed an agreement with Tesla in 2014 to construct the Gigafactory; Lux said that success depends on whether Tesla can reach its EV production target in 2020. Panasonic is also the lead supplier for Advanced Microgrid Solutions through Tesla. Panasonic’s partnership with Tesla is mutually beneficial due to their size and increasing scale—Tesla will also aggressively pursue other sectors besides electric vehicle (EV) production, leaving room for growth and expansion in other sectors, Lux said.

• LG Chem – Strong Positive. Lux said that LG Chem has the strongest system integrator partnership with AES Energy Storage thanks to a 2015 supply agreement, which could result in as many as 1 GWh in sales or more. LG Chem will also supply batteries for Nidec in a large contract between Nidec and German Utility STEAG signed in 2015.

  The company has a strong presence in the US and Germany, has the potential to enter the Korean stationary storage market through KEPCO; and works with one of the largest system integrators around, and smaller but notable partners. Its wide range of connections opens up possible revenue streams, technology advancement and expansion, Lux said.

• BYD – Wait and See. BYD has a key partnership with ABB, its primary power electronics provider, announced in 2014. It also works with RES Americas, but overall has no key partners, as the company prefers to work more internally.