Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

BayWa AG is strategically realigning BayWa re so it can sell its solar trade business. In the future, the subsidiary will focus on international projects as an independent power producer (IPP).

Allegro Energy, an Australian startup seeking to commercialise research into microemulsions to make non-toxic electrolytes that are cheaper “by factor of 100,” has commissioned a pilot-scale manufacturing line for supercapacitors in Newcastle, NSW.

A report from consultancy Climate Energy Finance finds that Australia and New Zealand have a more than $10 billion (USD 6.7 billion) pipeline of investment proposals in resource value-adding critical minerals, including in lithium, nickel, cobalt, vanadium, rare earths, hydrogen electrolysers, green ammonia, and value-added downstream battery developments.

Only weeks after announcing its plan to build a lithium-ion battery gigafactory in Geelong, Australia-based startup Recharge Industries has bought collapsed battery maker Britishvolt – doubling its manufacturing ambitions. The takeover resuscitates Britishvolt’s gigafactory play in northern England, and means the little known startup now holds two significant battery making projects.

CATL’s new lithium pricing structure gives Chinese original equipment manufacturers (OEM) an effective discount of more than 20%. It is making the move to win more orders amid a slowdown in the electric-vehicle market and the ongoing efforts of cell manufacturers to secure raw materials.

Competition is intensifying in the electrolyser space. With the International Energy Agency (IEA) expecting 380 GW of hydrogen production capacity in 2030, four different technologies will likely become prominent as demand spikes. We take a look at the market.

Trina Solar says its new TOPCon solar panel combines a double-glass design with n-type technology. Its efficiency ranges from 20.8% to 22.3% and the power output is between 415 W and 445 W.

Western Australia-based AVESS is set to deploy demonstration batteries at a WA mine site in the second half of the year. The deployment is about proving the company’s technology, as it plans to move towards manufacturing the flow batteries in Australia from 2024.

GCL-SI says it will build a new 12 GW solar manufacturing facility in China’s Jiangsu province, while Growatt has opened a factory with an annual capacity of 500,000 inverters and 100,000 batteries in Vietnam.

Analysis from Sunwiz has revealed Australia’s breakdown of top rooftop solar and inverter manufacturers for 2022.