Nearly 20 years after the first perovskite solar cell was created, the efficiency and durability of this small but highly efficient film have attracted attention from industries around the world. Front of the queue is the global defence industry, where rising geopolitical tensions are resulting in record spending by governments to boost capabilities and protect critical systems from attack, whether from natural disasters or more sinister threats like military conflict.

Let’s say you want to encourage more drivers to shift to battery-electric vehicles. What’s the best way to do it?

In the past 12 to 18 months, the NEM’s battery fleet has well and truly crossed the chasm from early adoption to mainstream acceptance, and is slowly becoming a key force in shaping dynamics in the physical market. The build-out is large, the pace of development has been relatively rapid, and — as we saw in AGL and Origin’s half-year results two weeks ago — battery earnings are becoming more of a focal point in company updates and strategy.

Australia leads the world in rooftop solar penetration. More than four million homes now generate power from their own roofs, and battery uptake continues to accelerate nationally. This is a triumph for clean energy, and a global example.

Is the NEM on the cusp of a “Bactrian camel curve” in which small-scale behind-the-meter storage splits the evening peak? Within just six months of Australia’s Cheaper Home Batteries Program, small-scale storage is already at a point where it could be supplying up to half of the output of Australia’s largest coal plant, Eraring, during peak load.

Bifacial solar panels, string inverters and advanced tracking systems are fast becoming the technologies of choice for developers of large-scale solar according to new data provided by Spain-based software company and analytics provider RatedPower.

Construction has officially started on Octopus Australia’s Blind Creek Solar Farm and battery project in southern New South Wales, one of the biggest DC-coupled hybrid projects being developed in the country.

Plans to build Australia’s first large-scale silicon ingot and wafer manufacturing facility in Queensland have been put on the fast track by the federal government in a nod to the project’s potential to play a key role in supporting a domestic solar supply chain.

Potentia Energy has completed the installation of more than 161,000 solar modules at its Quorn Park hybrid solar-plus-storage project in western New South Wales, marking a new milestone in Australia’s renewable energy transition.

Australia’s rooftop solar market has bounced back into record-setting territory with 281 MW of new capacity registered across the country last month, marking the largest February total on record.

The Chinese manufacturer said its new back-contact module delivers up to 545 W and over 25% efficiency in a compact rooftop format for residential, C&I, and off-grid applications.

The Chinese manufacturer has launched a fire-resistant version of its Hi-MO X10 module for distributed PV applications, featuring back-contact technology and up to 24.8% efficiency. The company says the module adds enhanced fire-safety design to address rooftop PV risks such as hot spots and DC arcing.

The Chinese manufacturer said its new three residential battery lines support a depth of discharge of 90% and deliver over 6,000 cycles.

Fortescue has begun construction of Western Australia’s biggest solar farm to date as the company pushes ahead with plans to decarbonise its Australian iron ore operations by the end of the decade.

The new product has a maximum wattage of 725 W, a maximum current of 22 A, and a maximum efficiency of 99.6%.

The energy storage efficiency of 12 solar storage systems with capacities of 5 kW or 10 kW has been put to the test, including several new products, all of which achieved efficiency class A. The latest interation of the annual study also examined efficiency losses when storing electricity from the grid and took a closer look at the warranty conditions of the devices.

A new report released by VisNet from EA Technology finds by 2030, Australian household energy loads are projected to rise 35%, with evening peak usage increasing by 60% in homes with electrical vehicles, prompting a call for smarter and more sustainable low voltage electricity networks.

UNSW researchers will collaborate with Sydney solar battery installation company Aussie Solar Batteries to design, develop and test AI-driven energy management platforms capable of optimising solar and battery systems.

The Chinese manufacturer has launched its third-generation Vertex S+ G3 dual-glass TOPCon modules for residential and commercial applications. The new products feature upgraded module architecture and a temperature coefficient if -0.26% per C.

Output from Australia’s large-scale renewable energy sector continues to climb with the nation’s utility PV and wind assets generating a total of 5.0 TWh in February, delivering an 11% increase on the same time last year.

SERIS researchers have developed a 16-cm² perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell with a double-sided TOPCon bottom cell, enhancing passivation, reducing recombination, and increasing voltage and fill factor.

Premier Energies has unveiled India’s first zero-busbar TOPCon solar cell, a design that marks a structural shift from traditional 10 and 16 busbar architectures, replacing thick silver busbars with a dense matrix of ultra-fine silver lines to collect current.

The Chinese manufacturer claims the new efficiency result sets a world record for industrial-scale TOPCon solar cells on M10-size wafers. The achievement was verified by an undisclosed independent third-party organisation in China.

The APX HV Battery 2.0 supports 5–30 kWh capacities and up to 15 kW of output. The IP66-rated system features a stacked, cable-free design.

The lab-scale, near-white heterojunction solar cell uses nanoclay-based scattering layers combined with dielectric multilayer films to preserve power conversion efficiency while enhancing visual appeal. The researchers report optical losses of less than 1% at a 50% clay volume fraction, which are significantly lower than those observed with textured glass.

Norway’s Photoncycle has raised $24.8 million to develop a seasonal home energy storage system that converts excess solar power into ammonia-based hydrogen for winter use.

Queensland-based gas business Arrow Energy has turned to solar and battery energy storage to help power it coal-seam gas operations in the Queensland’s Surat Basin.

The Australian Capital Territory’s first network of neighbourhood batteries is now complete with Evoenergy powering up a 450 kWh battery energy storage system in Canberra’s inner north to help futureproof the city’s electricity grid.

Victoria-headquartered renewables developer and electricity retailer Flow Power has added another solar and battery project to its portfolio with the acquisition of the Dunedoo Energy Project planned for central west New South Wales.

Solar battery installers have been warned to “do it once and do it well” as the number of batteries installed across Australia under the federal government’s Cheaper Home Batteries Program surges past the 250,000 milestone, delivering a combined 6.3 GWh of capacity.