AC Energy, the renewable energy unit of Philippines-based conglomerate Ayala Corp., has finished building the 72MW Arayat-Mexico PV plant on the island of Luzon, in cooperation with Manila-based Citicore Power.

Indra Overland, the head of the Center for Energy Research at the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs, tells pv magazine how the Ukraine war is irreversibly changing the global energy landscape, making massive renewables deployment a certainty. But labor issues, equipment shortages, and reliance on Chinese manufacturing remain obstacles.

The Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue 2022 event has shown the centrality of renewables and green hydrogen in the world’s future energy landscape. pv magazine spoke with the General Director of the International Renewable Energy Agency, Francesco La Camera, about the difficulties of creating a hydrogen economy in the absence of demand. According to him, public support and policies will be crucial to overcoming this challenge.

French chemical company Axcentive and solar module manufacturer Photowatt have developed a PV panel coating based on photoactive nanotechnology. The coating relies on a super-hydrophilic surface that makes the water spread out on the module surface immediately, thus avoiding light scattering effects upon rain.

Slovenian solar manufacturer Bisol is offering its new product with outputs of 260 and 300W, respectively. Front efficiencies ranges from 13.5% to 14.0% and the temperature coefficient is -0.35% per degree Celsius.

The new device has an efficiency of up to 98.6% and a European efficiency of up to 98.1%. It features up to two maximum power point tracking (MPPT) inputs, with MPPT voltage ranging from 140-1,000V. While the inverter is currently only available in China and Europe, the company said it plans to launch it in Australia “soon.”

Japanese automaker Toyota has used its hydrogen tank tech in a new module to expand hydrogen storage to railways, shipping facilities, cargo ports, and fuel cell generators. Its 70MPa tank has a storage capacity of 2.7 kg to 18.7 kg and a tank mass ranging from 43.0 kg to 243.8 kg, depending on the size.

Developed by researchers in Spain, the battery uses renewable electricity to melt low-cost metals such as silicon or ferrosilicon alloys to produce and store latent heat, which is in turn used by a thermophovoltaic generator to produce power. According to its creators, the device may store electricity at a cost of €10 per kilowatt-hour (AU$14.6/kWh) for a 10MWh system.

The new product is part of the company’s HiKu6 series based on 182mm wafers. Its temperature coefficient is 0.34% and its electrical characteristics are claimed to be compatible with the most common photovoltaic inverters thanks to current values below 14A.

Researchers in Spain have designed a pumped thermal energy storage system that uses supercritical carbon dioxide as a heat pump and a heat engine. The proposed system is claimed to achieve an efficiency of 80.26% and an LCOS of €0.116/kWh (AU$0.18/KWh)