Technology

Boundary Power, a union between West Australian standalone power system (SAPS) leader Horizon Power and Ampcontrol, has installed its first off-grid system for an unnamed east coast utility in regional New South Wales.

Researchers from RMIT and the University of Melbourne have discovered high-frequency vibrations can release 14 times more hydrogen compared with standard electrolysis techniques. The discovery also has ramifications for the expensive, rare materials currently used in electrolysers. “With sound waves making it much easier to extract hydrogen from water, it eliminates the need to use corrosive electrolytes and expensive electrodes such as platinum or iridium,” research lead Amgad Rezk said.

An Italian startup has created a fully recyclable sticker that can be used to cover solar panels on rooftops or facades. It replicates high-definition images that can help to improve the aesthetics of solar arrays or turn PV facades into advertising billboards.

Researchers from UNSW have discovered a low-cost way to stabilise perovskite solar cells with a “triple function, cheap additive,” research lead Professor Hao tells pv magazine Australia. Perovskite cells using the additive have returned the best stability results yet seen in Australia, according to the team, and among the best in the world.

Australian technology start-up Infravision will team with New South Wales network operator Transgrid in a trial of a “next generation” line-monitoring system designed to optimise the performance of existing electrical transmission infrastructure and support the roll out of more renewable energy.

New South Wales network operator Ausgrid has signed an agreement with Simply Energy which will see the Melbourne-based energy retailer operate the electricity distribution company’s three community batteries in the National Energy Market.

Norwegian researchers have published a new study showing that the space between solar panels and rooftop surfaces might play a critical role in contributing to PV system fires.

While the efficiency of solar cells will always be important, scaling innovation in sustainable cell technology and solar deployment, is the new game in town. With hydrogen exports and production of green metals in its sights, Australia has some breakthrough tech coming down the pike, as pv magazine Australia’s Natalie Filatoff reports.

Analysts study lab-to-market pathways for clean energy technologies including a look at the development of First Solar’s cadmium-telluride thin film solar modules.

Researchers from the University of Sydney have created a new sodium-sulphur battery which they say provides four times the energy capacity of lithium-ion batteries and is far cheaper to produce, providing the potential to dramatically reduce energy storage costs.