An agreement with Energy Vault may see resource company BHP stack 35-tonne blocks to store wind and solar energy in the Pilbara, northern Western Australia.

Brisbane-based flow battery company Redflow has completed its single biggest installation to date, a 2 MWh storage system in California for biowaste technology firm Anaergia.

Researchers at the University of Wollongong say they have discovered a new form of graphene which will improve both anode and cathode materials in lithium-ion batteries, making them cheaper and more efficient. Collaborating with Sicona, the company has agreed to buy all the researchers’ intellectual property relating to the new material.

Indigenous communities have some of the most unreliable, expensive power in Australia, with a recent study finding almost three quarters of households in remote Northern Territory communities lost power more than 10 times, often for significant periods on “dangerously” hot days. Alarmingly, regulations have until now completely blocked communities in public housing from connecting rooftop solar because they use a prepaid meter system.

In an unconventional bid to attract large-scale renewable developments, the Queensland government has organised for usually highly confidential solar and wind monitoring data to be made public for the first time through Fulcrum 3D’s technology platforms.

Australia’s energy system was already a complex web, but it’s now transforming into the work of a labyrinth spider, which build tunnels so complicated and thick they look like white silk vortexes. You get the picture. Or you will from reading the Generator Insights 2021 report published today.

When warnings of an end of year solar industry shutdown flared last week caused by rather incomprehensible strings of letters and numbers, gauging how the pieces fit together wasn’t easy. With a resolution all but officially confirmed, it appears the threat of a December 18 Armageddon have been averted, but the whole saga is, as Smart Energy Council CEO John Grimes put it, is “a masterclass in how Australian exceptionalism can backfire.”

The Queensland government will explore whether hydrogen fuel cells can be used for heavy freight trains, preceding that news with the launch of what is believed to be the first hydrogen powered police car in the southern hemisphere.

Neoen today announced construction has begun on its 100 MW/200 MWh Capital Battery, which doubled from its initial 50 MW capacity proposed last year. The battery is to be built 10km southeast of the Australian capital, Canberra.

Australia’s Clean Energy Regulator will begin trials of its hydrogen Guarantee of Origin scheme. Backed by the Australian federal government, the scheme will aim to align with international standards and provide confidence to trading partners in the burgeoning industry.