Energy Storage

South Korean company LG Energy Solution has partnered with Australian fintech financier Humm Group and renewable energy retailer Diamond Energy to provide customers with Virtual Power Plant platform. Virtual power plants (VPPs) are gaining momentum in Australia as a way to decrease buyback time on home batteries and potentially add stabilisation services to the grid.

A British-Australian research team has assessed the potential of liquid air energy storage (LAES) for large scale application. The scientists estimate that these systems may currently be built at a cost between €300 and €600 (AU$480 to $960) per megawatt-hour and that a positive business case could be favoured by certain conditions, including a determined price structure in the energy market and the presence of a grid unable to support high levels of renewable energy penetration.

The manufacturer has launched sodium-ion products online. Production has begun and will be easily scalable, according to the CATL chairman. Researchers have been keen to make the technology work as it offers a cheaper, more environmentally friendly alternative to lithium-ion products.

Speculation will be rife as to the cause of the fire which destroyed one Tesla Megapack and damaged another in Moorabool on Friday. Investigators are waiting until the site is deemed safe to begin their forensic examination.

The time is now for the energy consumer, says Anna Bruce, as energy “prosumers” produce, consume, and provide electricity and grid services in previously unimagined ways. Bruce, a senior lecturer at the University of New South Wales’ School of Solar Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering (SPREE), leads work on the role of distributed energy resources in the energy transition, analysing firsthand the dizzying level of complexity it brings.

Assistant Minister for Waste Reduction and Environmental Management, Trevor Evans, has announced a newly accredited Battery Stewardship Scheme that he says will triple the battery collection rate over a period five years and divert 90% of the collected materials from landfill. 

Mining giant BHP has taken another step on the path towards a renewable energy future, commissioning a 48.2 MW solar + storage hybrid power facility that will help power its Nickel West mining operations in regional Western Australia.

Standalone power system specialist Boundary Power has teamed up with Australian hydrogen technology company LAVO to investigate the potential application of its renewable hydrogen energy storage system in power solutions suitable for off-grid and edge-of-grid customers.

According to a new report, India’s commercial and industrial sectors will increase their rooftop solar deployments by 47% year-on-year, with bifacials and large-size high-wattage modules offering cost-effective support for reducing electricity costs.

Mining giant Rio Tinto has tapped NRW Holdings to begin construction of a large-scale solar PV and battery energy storage system at the Anglo-Australian multinational’s $2.6 billion Gudai-Darri iron ore mine in Western Australia.