At present, China accounts for almost 75% of global lithium-ion battery manufacturing capacity and this share is set to increase through the short term with its build-out of new facilities. And although the US and Europe are enacting policies to encourage domestic battery production, there has been a distinct lack of support for investment in the supply and refining of the raw materials to achieve this. In China, the opposite holds true. 

Chip Breitenkamp, of Nanograf, discusses American battery manufacturing, how to ensure a resilient and equitable supply chain, and how to create jobs.

New Zealand’s Climate Change Commission today released its long-anticipated advice to the government on how to reshape the economy to meet the country’s domestic and international climate change obligations. The document sets out three emissions budgets, covering 15 years to 2035 in five-yearly plans. It also provides advice on the direction policy should take to achieve the country’s 2050 net-zero goal.

For the transport sector, which is responsible for half of New Zealand’s energy-related emissions, the commission suggests a sweeping set of changes to electrify the country’s car fleet and to replace imported fuels with local renewable electricity. It’s exciting to see a national-level plan that actually cuts emissions. But it raises two questions: is it feasible, and is it the best or only option?

In an earnings call this week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk boldly claimed that the company will soon be “the market leader in solar.”

Sector coupling may be somewhat of a buzzword, but it also points to opportunities for PV beyond the power markets, which may quickly reach limitations during peak hours of irradiation. Combined energy, food and clean water production presents one such opportunity, with benefits for developers, utilities and communities.

An aggressive US climate policy rollout could provide a much needed dose of reality to the climate discourse in Canberra. It may also prompt Australia’s major parties to acknowledge the inevitability of a transition to a zero carbon economy.

The end of coal-fired generation in Australia is inevitable. Zero marginal cost, zero emissions energy is now a reality. Wind and solar are cheaper sources of new electricity than coal in most cases, putting significant pressure on the profitability of the inflexible, ageing coal generators. The only questions are when coal-fired power stations will close and how well Australia will manage that phasedown.

The sooner you invest in a solar battery the better off you’ll be, says Lightning Solar & Electrical’s George Panayides. After installing hundreds of solar batteries throughout Australia, Panayides says that demand is picking up and the future is bright, but notes that while high prices may inhibit uptake for some, the savings to be made with batteries and VPPs are a sure thing.

In light of the Morrison Government committing another $94 million to Marinus Link, Cornwall Insight Australia Senior Analyst, Jake Dunstan, asks whether Tasmania can do both; support the mainland and develop a renewable hydrogen industry locally.