Energy Storage

The federal government will tip more than $17 million into what it said will be Australia’s first commercial concentrated solar thermal heat plant, expanding the application of solar power beyond electricity to heat generation.

French renewable energy and storage developer Neoen has confirmed that the 219 MW / 877 MWh first stage of what will be one of Australia’s largest battery energy storage systems has commenced operations in Western Australia’s coal heartlands.

Elumina has officially opened a manufacturing and development centre in Queensland’s southeast that it says will be the first in Australia capable of producing both community-scale lithium batteries and electric vehicle chargers.

China-based inverter and battery manufacturer Sofar has identified an increasing shift in the Australian rooftop solar and residential energy storage market, predicting growing demand for fully integrated options.

Queensland-based energy tech company AnteoTech has secured almost $4 million in funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency to help fast-track the development of its silicon-dominant lithium-ion battery anode technology.

Western Australian transport and logistics giant Centurion is building a fully integrated off-grid energy system including rooftop solar and on-site battery energy storage to help accelerate its shift to electric vehicles.

Labelled the “most difficult” in the world, Australia’s regulatory environment and grid connection process for new large-scale renewable energy generation and storage has also been lauded as the standard bearer for the global market.

While Australia continues to be a revelatory solar market internationally, it lost its place in the top 10 solar installers globally in 2023, the IEA PVPS team reports. According to Renate Egan, Executive Director for the Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics, it is the first time in 30 years Australia has dropped off that list. “What’s sad is that the rest of the world is now taking off and investing in solar and we’re falling behind,” she said at Melbourne’s All Energy on Thursday.

Australian company Rux Energy is commercialising technology that uses highly porous nanomaterials to coat tanks for hydrogen storage, claiming significant improvements to the cost, safety and efficiency of what remains a major industry barrier. It has secured funding in the Australian government’s latest round of research grants, and recently opened an office in Essex off the back of industry trials now underway in the UK.

The time for Australia to pursue its renewable energy ‘superpower’ ambitions is now with an audience at All Energy 2024 told the policy settings, regulatory rigor, and support are in place to enable a strong clean energy future.