February 2023

Ionblox says it will use $32 million of series B funding to support the buildout of a novel silicon anode electric vehicle battery.

The Bern University of Applied Sciences in Switzerland has published the initial results of a survey on the durability and performance of residential PV inverters and power optimisers over a 15-year period. They found that more than 65% of the inverters did not present yield-relevant faults by their 15th year of operation.

Rooftop solar stronghold Western Australia has been offered a glimpse of its energy future with the market operator having activated its first virtual power plant to prevent household blackouts after heatwave conditions sparked concern for the state’s main energy grid.

A 40,000 sqm factory in Virginia, Queensland, is to be powered with 100% renewable energy after Australian biscuit manufacturer Arnott’s Group signed a long-term power purchase agreement with energy generator Stanwell.

For most of us, transmitting power is an invisible part of modern life. You flick the switch and the light goes on. But the way we transport electricity is vital. For us to quit fossil fuels, we will need a better grid, connecting renewable energy in the regions with cities.

Modular solar array manufacturer 5B will work with researchers from the University of Sydney to optimise the design of large-scale solar farms in a bid to minimise temperature-induced panel efficiency losses. The research project secured funding support in the latest round of the Australian Research Council’s Linkage Project Grants program.

Polysilicon prices started to rise in the second half of January, according to new data from the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association (CNMIA).

Malaysian researchers have developed a system that can absorb heat from PV modules and transmit it to a nanofluid, in order to transform it into thermal energy and use it for different applications. The panels have an overall efficiency of 89%.

Singapore-based vanadium redox flow battery maker VFlowTech has raised $14.4 million (USD 10 million) as part of a Series A funding round. It will use the capital to set up a 200 MWh vanadium flow battery factory for the production of its 250 kWh product.

The prestigious Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering has this year been awarded to the University of New South Wales’ Professor Martin Green, Dr Aihua Wang and Dr Jianhua Zhao, as well as the Australian National University’s Professor Andrew Blakers, for their research work and development of PERC solar technology.