Markets & Policy

Enabling future energy flows at the lower-voltage distribution level? Unlikely. Wide-scale hardware upgrades would cost billions if not trillions, especially in Australia’s far reaches. Software and digital solutions are identifying new cost-effective ways of letting more sun into the grid.

In a big week for Shell, the oil major has announced two joint ventures: the first of which involves the development of one of Australia’s largest batteries at 500 MW / 1,000 MWh alongside partner Ampyr Australia. The second involves the acquisition of a hybrid wind, solar and battery project in Western Australia with the UK’s Foresight Group.

Shell Energy Australia has been awarded $9.1 million from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency to recruit at least 40 commercial customer sites, including shopping centres and supermarkets, to begin shifting how and when they use electricity – a demonstration of the potential of flexible demand.

A plan to build a 2 GW / 20 GWh pumped hydro project in the pit of an old gold mine in southeast Queensland has been declared a ‘Coordinated Project’ by the state’s Coordinator-General, a mechanism intended to fast track the plan.

Ambitious government targets and commitments by both private and state-owned companies will propel renewable energy installations.

Russian researchers have transmuted poisonous Sosnowsky’s hogweed into high-grade anode material for sodium-ion batteries. The obtained material has a Coulombic efficiency of 87%, which is on par with the best reported results for hard carbons synthesised from other raw materials.

World-beating Australian solar technology company SunDrive has completed a new $21 million (USD 13 million) funding round which will help commercialise its revolutionary solar cell technology that replaces silver with copper to improve solar panel efficiency and reduce costs.

Australian electricity gen-tailer EnergyAustralia will investigate the feasibility of installing a 500 MW/2000 MWh big battery energy storage system adjacent to its 1.4 GW Mount Piper coal-fired power station in New South Wales.

The Western Australia government is partnering with United Kingdom-based electrolyser manufacturer ITM Power and Germany’s Linde Engineering in a $450,000 (USD 278,106) study to develop a business case for the manufacturing of renewable hydrogen electrolysers within the state.

Core Lithium’s Finniss Lithium Project just south of Darwin’s Port opened this week, supplying battery-grade lithium to electric vehicle giant Tesla, among others. Core Lithium plans to open processing facilities at the site by early next year.