Energy Storage

Brisbane-based Vaulta has developed a lighter, smaller battery casing with fewer parts, which makes it easier to assemble modules and repair faulty components. CEO Dominic Spooner argues that the company’s patented technology has the potential to significantly reduce battery waste.

The 5 kWh battery solution uses Ecoflow’s PV-coupling technology that reportedly ensures an easy connection to existing solar arrays. The new product features an output voltage range of 150-800 V.

Australian superannuation giant Aware Super has made a large-scale entry into the distributed renewable energy market, teaming with Melbourne-based Birdwood Energy in a venture specialising in smaller-scale solar and battery installations.

Falling ceramic particles less than half a millimetre in size have been used by Australia’s national science agency, the CSIRO, to store energy in a concentrated solar thermal system. The team recently achieved a temperature of 803°C using the process at its pilot plant in NSW.

On September 26, the Bouldercombe battery in Queensland caught fire during its commissioning process. Now, it is being reported the battery facility is already back up and running – which isn’t quite the case, WattClarity’s Paul McArdle explains.

Researchers at Victoria’s Monash University have developed a new lithium-sulphur battery design they claim requires less lithium, has more energy per unit volume, lasts longer and can be produced for half the price of the dominant lithium-ion technology.

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation has made its first investment via the Australian government’s $20 billion (USD 12.67 billion) Rewiring the Nation Fund, committing $100 million to support the build-out of renewable generation, long-duration storage and grid infrastructure in New South Wales.

Boundary Power is claiming an Australian first with the unveiling of a 100% relocatable and modular stand-alone power system that integrates solar with a hydrogen electrolyser and storage system, doing away with the traditional back-up diesel generator.

Aspiring renewable energy developer ACE Power will partner with the clean energy arm of Japanese energy giant Osaka Gas to jointly develop a portfolio of Australian solar and battery projects with a total capacity of more than 500 MW.

Australia’s vast distances make the supply of electricity via traditional grids expensive and even dangerous. With demand growing for agricultural goods produced with low-carbon emissions, solar and energy storage is being embraced even by skeptical farmers.