Energy Storage

Japanese scientists have developed a new lithium-sulfur battery by using titanium oxide and titanium nitride to prevent the formation of polysulfides during the fabrication process. This allows the battery to retain 85% of its capacity after 500 cycles at 2 C.

Ambri has secured US$144 million ( AU$195 million) to commercialise its calcium-antimony liquid metal battery chemistry and open manufacturing facilities to deliver projects in 2023 and beyond.

Queensland’s transition to a renewable energy future is set to progress with the state government calling for tenders for the proposed 1 GW Borumba Dam pumped hydro energy storage project while work on a nearby 176 MW solar farm has also reached a new milestone.

Energy Source, a Brazilian battery specialist, is currently providing energy storage services with reused and recycled batteries. Battery recycling and related metals recovery are conducted separately, without the burning of materials.

Australian giant AGL Energy plans to build what will be the world’s largest ‘grid-forming’ battery in South Australia, deploying technology so novel that it yet to be clearly regulated in Australia. “Trialling something like this on the grid at this scale hasn’t been done before anywhere in the world,” Josh Birmingham, Director of Large-Scale & Project Solutions at SMA Australia, told pv magazine Australia.

Both Victoria’s and Queensland’s state governments are moving on their renewable energy zones (REZs) with tight deadlines looming for hopeful projects in Victoria, while further north the government is eager to hear from local communities.

Melbourne-based renewables developer Syncline Energy has revealed its plans for a 600 MW/2400 MWh battery storage project 25 kilometres west of Melbourne city.

Australian giant AGL Energy will soon own the world’s largest ‘grid forming’ battery, with construction on its 250 MW/250 MWh big battery to begin later this year at Torrens Island, just north of Adelaide in South Australia. The battery will be delivered by Finnish technology company Wärtsilä with inverters supplied by German company SMA Solar Technology.

Scientists in India fabricated a redox flow battery based on zinc and iron that showed strong storage characteristics and no signs of degradation over 30 charge-discharge cycles. The battery also showed no signs of dendrite formation, overcoming one of the key hurdles for redox-flow batteries based on these low-cost, abundant materials.

South Australia is a global hero for its demonstration of a rapid transition to renewable generation. But as renewables supplied more than 60% of the state’s electricity, and pushed out coal and even gas-fired generation, cracks appeared in the system strength and inertia required to keep the grid reliably running. ElectraNet has deployed old, clean-running technology — synchronous condensers — to smooth the gaps.