Technology

Three companies are swapping out aluminium and glass in favour of plastic to save weight and add flexibility. We look at the pros and cons.

U.K.-based Gravitricity is planning to deploy its gravity-based energy storage solution at a decommissioned coal mine in Czechia. The project is part of a plan to commence a full-scale, 4-8 MW prototype scheme in a disused mine next year.

The record efficiency was obtained thanks to an interlayer placed between the electron-transporting layer and the perovskite layer, which eliminated the need for passivation. The cell was also able to retain around 90% of its initial efficiency after 500 hours under standard illumination.

Over recent years, the energy industry has been working hard to provide the structure and a regulatory framework for a market that recognises the value of coordinated demand response. Today marked the second wave — after the opening of the FCAS market in 2017 — of opportunity for organisations to trade their flexible electricity loads on the wholesale electricity market. The resulting efficiency gains are an important piece of the energy transition puzzle.

Underground hydrogen storage seems to be coming up a lot lately, and with the burgeoning hydrogen industry needing somewhere to store itself, it’s not hard to understand why. One of the countries with the best credentials for the future hydrogen economy is Australia. A newly published report has quantified the country’s “massive opportunity” for underground hydrogen storage.

One year on from its spinoff from SunPower, cell and module maker Maxeon Solar Technologies is looking to supply both “across and through” the solar market segments in the Asia-Pacific region. Chris O’Brien, the vice president of APAC for Maxeon, says that the region is set to grow in importance among PV marketplaces, with opportunities on the home, business and free field.

Queensland government-owned utility Ergon Energy has opened the doors to a new $6 million “world-class” research and development hub designed to accelerate the integration of renewable energy technology including microgrids and standalone power systems into the state’s electricity network.

Australian clean energy investment firm Providence Asset Group will roll out hydrogen-lithium battery technology at its solar farms after partnering with the Commonwealth Bank to fund a portfolio of 10 community-based solar plants in regional Victoria as part of the group’s larger ambitions to develop up to 40 ~5 MW solar farms across the eastern states.

The first commercial application of Australian hydrogen research and development company Star Scientific’s award-winning Hydrogen Energy Release Optimiser technology has been given the green light with the company announcing it has partnered with manufacturing network Central Coast Industry Connect to establish a new industry-led hydrogen cluster on the New South Wales Central Coast.

A report from Australia’s Future Battery Industries Cooperative Research Centre which analysed the development of battery hubs in the U.S., Germany and Japan, has found that co-location and cooperation between industry and government were key to hub success. For Australia to play the same game, it will have to leverage its wealth of resources, and clean up its act along the way.