The three-year trial will evaluate the performance of lithium-ion batteries from six major brands, and explore ways to use them in large and small electricity grids.
Arena has allocated $450,000 funding for the trial, which will be managed by renewable energy consulting firm IT Power.
Arena CEO Ivor Frischknecht said: "Storage is important for allowing more renewable energy to be used in Australia on-grid and off-grid by smoothing out energy supply.
"Power companies could, for example, consider renewable energy based mini-grids with storage as an alternative to maintaining sections of the main grid that currently run at a loss."
As part of the project, IT Power will trial each battery with repeated charge and discharge cycles at a new test facility being built at the Canberra Institute of Technology.
"The findings will be shared broadly across the energy industry with investors, power companies and researchers in line with Arena’s commitment to knowledge sharing," Frischknecht added.
