Markets

As Australia’s hydrogen project pipeline doubles in 12 months, Iberdrola announces investment in a green hydrogen and green methanol production plant in Tasmania. Meanwhile, projects in Scandinavia target the shipping industry.

Investment and forecast revenue from Australian resources critical to low-emissions energy technologies has grown dramatically in 2022, federal government reports find. The forecast export earnings from critical minerals has grown 50% in the year, while hydrogen projects now make up the nation’s largest single component by value, though in a highly speculative form.

The 5 MW Woods Point Solar and Storage Farm in South Australia is open – it is one of three identical solar storage projects being commissioned by SEI and Yes Group in December, and part of a much larger mid-scale play.

Shenzhen LiTime Technology’s new lithium iron phosphate battery system has a nominal voltage of 12.8 V and a capacity of 100 Ah. It comes with a five-year warranty and can purportedly operate for more than 4,000 cycles.

Adani has selected Engineers India Ltd. (EIL) to set up 30,000 metric tons (MT) of polysilicon production capacity and 500 MT of monosilane capacity in India.

A reduction of silver consumption in PV production is required on the way to terawatt scale. Given this, the time may have come for the commercialisation of new copper plating technologies – doing away with the need for silver in cell metallisation altogether. However, the history of plating technology is littered with cautionary tales.

The South Australia government has called for proposals from industry partners to build a $593 million (USD 398 million) green hydrogen power plant, including 250 MW of hydrogen electrolyser facilities and fit-for-purpose hydrogen storage infrastructure at Whyalla on the east coast of the Eyre Peninsula.

Des Hang on the three main doubts that still linger around Australia’s burgeoning electric vehicle (EV) industry.

A new player has entered the Australian renewable energy sector with New Zealand-based infrastructure investor Infratil confirming that its new majority-owned clean energy platform Mint Renewables will look at wind, solar and energy storage opportunities with an initial investment of $300 million (USD 203 million).

Perth-based Provaris Energy said it is moving forward with its compressed H2 carrier, while Princeton University researchers have published a study on how the transition to hydrogen-based energy systems would affect the tropospheric burdens of methane and hydrogen.