Energy Storage

A team of engineers at Melbourne’s RMIT University have developed a rechargeable ‘proton battery’, claiming the technology has the potential, with further development, to store more energy than currently available lithium-ion batteries.

Researchers in Canada have found that nearly zero-energy buildings (NZEBs) with on-site solar energy generation should not exceed an energy use intensity (EUI) of 50 kWh/m2a, which they said corresponds to a maximum of 10 floors. They also ascertained that the maximum permitted EUI by net-zero energy status is 17–28 kWh/m2a.

Australian battery technology company Vaulta has unveiled its first dedicated residential battery with the small-scale energy storage system purportedly able to operate for 4,000 cycles with an 80% depth of discharge.

Renewable energy developer Neoen will scale up the installed capacity of the Western Downs Battery being built in Queensland to 270 MW/540 MWh as it looks to keep pace with rising demand for energy storage and realise opportunities across Australia’s evolving energy system.

A grid-connected community battery has gone live in Sydney’s western suburbs with New South Wales electricity distributor Endeavour Energy trialling the technology as a means to maximise the benefits of rooftop solar generation and more efficiently manage supply and demand in the network.

Transgrid, Australia’s major grid operator, plans to soon launch a competitive process to procure grid support services from third-party battery operators as it looks beyond traditional network infrastructure to help maintain the reliability of electricity supply in two growth regions in New South Wales.

United States-based battery startup Nuvola Technology says it has developed a direct deposition polymer separator technology that can eliminate the primary cause of lithium-ion battery fires.

China-based GoodWe has developed two new solutions – the ETC 100 kW hybrid inverter and the BTC 100 kW retrofit battery inverter – for commercial and industrial solar applications.

Clean energy investor Global Sustainable Energy Opportunities expects to gain access to additional revenue streams in Australia’s National Electricity Market after completing the retrofit of a battery energy storage system at an operating solar farm in South Australia.

The New South Wales government has provided planning approvals for two new grid-scale batteries that will deliver a combined 540 MWh of energy storage capacity to support the state’s rapidly changing energy market.