Energy Storage

Researchers from Monash and the University of Queensland have developed a nanofiltration technology to extract lithium from low-grade saltwater brines with high magnesium content. “Our technology achieves 90 percent lithium recovery, nearly double the performance of traditional methods, while dramatically reducing the time required for extraction from years to mere weeks,” researcher Dr Zhikao Li said.

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.

Founder and former CEO of SwitchDin Dr Andrew Mears is launching his new venture, Tesseract ESS, at Melbourne’s All Energy today. The proposition expands on his previous technologies to deliver a ‘storage-as-a-service’ model focused on Australia’s C&I segment, providing battery and solar systems at $0 CAPEX to Australian farmers, manufacturers and other businesses. Pv magazine Australia spoke to Mears ahead of the launch.

Renewables developer X-Elio, owned by Brookfield Renewable, has today announced it will add a 148 MW battery system to its operational Blue Grass solar farm in Queensland, marking its first hybrid solar + storage venture in Australia.

Energy Vault, a Swiss company which initially entered international markets with gravity-based storage technologies before expanding into lithium batteries, has signed a $350 million (USD 234 million) agreement with Australian developer Enervest to deliver a 1 GWh lithium battery for a site in Stoney Creek, NSW.

The New South Wales government will pump up the state’s long-duration energy storage capacity target to 28 GWh by 2034 as it prepares for the exit of coal-fired power generation and greater renewable energy integration.

The volume of large-scale battery energy storage projects under construction in Australia passed that of solar and wind projects combined in 2023 and the trend has intensified this year, with batteries attracting federal support. As coal-fired power plants are shuttered, developers and suppliers are enjoying a battery bonanza.

London-headquartered resources company Rio Tinto is set to become the world’s largest lithium producer after announcing a $9.9 billion move to acquire Ireland-headquartered Arcadium Lithium.

A 1 MW community-owned battery energy storage system could earn the operators up to $250,000 in revenue each year in Australia according to new analysis from Ireland-headquartered smart energy company GridBeyond.