Balance of Systems

Sydney-based lithium-ion battery specialist Magnis Energy Technologies has begun commercial production of full-sized cells at its manufacturing plant in the United States with plans to increase production to 38 GWh of battery cell capacity per year by the end of the decade.

Having established a strong foothold in the Australian market with its solar PV panels, Chinese manufacturer JinkoSolar is now seeking to expand its influence in the energy storage space with the launch of its modular Suntank home battery storage system.

Australian renewable energy start-up Canyon Solar has unveiled a prefabricated solar PV shade structure for commercial carpark applications that it claims can be installed at least three times faster than traditional systems and outcompetes rooftop solar PV on a dollar-per-watt basis.

United States-based manufacturer Briggs & Stratton offers the storage solution with a 6kW inverter, a 4.9kWh battery, and a proprietary monitoring system.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has issued a call for homeowners to urgently check their residential energy storage systems amid a national recall of some LG-branded batteries which may overheat and ignite.

Western Australia-based Altech Chemicals’ plan to develop a high-grade alumina coating plant for lithium-ion batteries in Germany has taken a crucial step forward with the acquisition of an industrial site that could potentially house the facility.

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.

Potential price rises of 14% for the solar home systems that are driving access to electricity in the world’s under-served regions could signal further arrested progress towards the UN goal of universal access by 2030.

Western Australian company Australian Vanadium Limited has been awarded $3.69 million in federal government funding to fast-track manufacturing of large-scale vanadium redox flow battery systems that can be used to support rooftop solar PV or in off-grid settings such as mining, agriculture and remote communities.

Module-level power electronics, most often in the form of power optimisers and microinverters, offer a range of value propositions, including advanced monitoring capabilities. But how much can the little box behind the module really see, and how much do operators actually need to know to keep a power plant running optimally?