Technology

German industrial giant Siemens has partnered with Swinburne University of Technology to develop a future grid mapping “energy transition hub.” The project seeks to accelerate the transition to renewable energies by bringing research and industry together while also serving as a learning tool for Swinburne students.

Western Australia-based Hybrid Systems Australia has commissioned 42 MW of interconnected battery storage for two Fortescue mine sites in the Pilbara region, noting the installation is one of the largest for a mining application.

Western Australia’s regional utility Horizon Power has installed a battery system in Exmouth on the state’s northern coast, unlocking 2 MW of solar hosting capacity. The installation is one of nine batteries being installed by the utility across the state and is arguably a more effective rendition of a “community battery.”

New South Wales network Transgrid has announced it will trial the first dual-cab electric ute released in Australia.

US aluminium giant Alcoa will go ahead with trialling a steam recycling technology aimed at reducing emissions at its West Australian Wagerup facility, after an ARENA-backed study found the technology was not only feasible but cheaper.

The Australian Alliance for Energy Productivity (A2EP) has released a free, online estimation tool to aid Australian businesses in sizing heat pumps to replace gas boilers. The tool estimates the capex, opex, net savings, and payback time based on inputs about heating, cooling, location, and temperature requirements.

An international consortium led by Israel’s Al-Zahrawi Society has launched the Regace project to develop agrivoltaic solutions for greenhouses. It will investigate the performance of a new tracking system across locations and climates and use carbon dioxide enrichment to improve crop yield.

Renewable energy developer Vast Solar will progress plans to deliver Australia’s first commercial-scale concentrated solar power plant after securing financial backing from the federal government to build a 30 MW/288 MWh facility near Port Augusta in South Australia.

Enerpoly produces low-cost, low-maintenance zinc-ion battery storage systems for durations of two to 10 hours. The Swedish battery specialist now plans to develop prototypes of a residential plug-in storage system with rechargeable zinc batteries in Europe, under an EU-funded collaborative project with Austrian startup EET.

Finnish researchers have proposed the use of solar, wind, and storage to provide desalinated seawater to restore forests. Their model predicts that an additional 10.7 TW of PV would be needed to actually do this by 2100, leading to a cumulative carbon dioxide sequestration potential of 730 gigatonnes.