Sustainability

Ground-mounted PV is increasingly being investigated not only as a renewable generator, but as shelter for crops and creatures under fire from climate change. Last week’s All Energy conference handed the mike to some pioneers in the field.

Leaders from Australian hydrogen startup Hysata are joining Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on his four-day visit to the US to meet President Joe Biden. Hysata is commercialising a hydrogen electrolysis breakthrough that claims to improve efficiency by 20%.

Victorian hydrogen company Energys has unveiled its third-generation, locally-manufactured Hydrogen Fuel Cell Generators, five of which are to provide backup power for Telstra’s remote telecommunications towers as part of a Victorian pilot. The company says it is already constructing a green hydrogen generation plant too, supported by funding from the Victorian government.

To help balance variable renewable generation, California has set flexible demand standards for pool controls. The standards will help the state achieve its target of 7 GW of load flexibility by 2030 while saving consumers money.

Brisbane-based Vaulta has developed a lighter, smaller battery casing with fewer parts, which makes it easier to assemble modules and repair faulty components. CEO Dominic Spooner argues that the company’s patented technology has the potential to significantly reduce battery waste.

The solar-powered Stella Terra test car from The Netherlands’ Eindhoven University has just completed a 1,000 kilometre test drive from northern Morocco to the Sahara. In Australia, the solar car racing team from the University of New South Wales says the real challenge is to find new ways to push the boundaries of solar car races.

RMIT University in Australia has developed new software that integrates product, regulation, technical, economic, and construction data. It helps architects and engineers to estimate the cost of building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) during the conceptual design phase.

Diesel trains have been retrofitted with batteries and are now running from Adelaide stations, in the latest of a spate of sustainable transport trials in the South Australian capital. This includes trials with fully electric trains and the beginning of trials with hydrogen-powered and pure electric buses.

This article is part of a series by The Conversation, Getting to Zero, examining Australia’s energy transition.

Australia’s vast distances make the supply of electricity via traditional grids expensive and even dangerous. With demand growing for agricultural goods produced with low-carbon emissions, solar and energy storage is being embraced even by skeptical farmers.