Taiwanese battery maker targets NT for manufacturing plant
The Northern Territory government has signed an agreement with Taiwanese battery company Aleees and Western Australia-based miner Avenira to develop a battery cathode manufacturing plant in Darwin.
Novel tech to recycle silver, aluminum from end-of-life solar panels
Researchers in the United Kingdom have developed a new method of extracting silver and aluminium from end-of-life PV cells using iron chloride and aluminium chloride dissolved in brines. According to the research team, the cheap solvents retrieve up to 95% of the metals within 10 minutes, achieving a 98% purity of silver chloride.
Longi achieves 26.12% efficiency for gallium-doped p-type heterojunction solar cell
The result, confirmed by Germany’s Institute for Solar Energy Research Hamelin (ISFH), was achieved on a heterojunction solar cell based on an M6 wafer.
Solar-powered ‘backpacks’ to help bring birds back from brink
Tiny solar-powered, satellite backpacks are being used to track one of Australia’s rarest bird species as part of a 10-year, $175 million conservation effort between the New South Wales, South Australian and Victorian governments.
Energy Vault to deploy 2 GWh of gravity storage in China
Energy Vault’s EVx storage system is comparable to pumped hydro, using grid-scale renewable energy when supply is abundant to drive motors and raise 30-ton blocks on a six-arm crane tower, rather than water, up to a height. When power needs to be discharged back to the grid, the blocks are lowered, harvesting the kinetic energy.
FTC Solar unveils new self-powered tracking system
United States-based engineering firm FTC Solar has unveiled a new self-powered solar tracking system which it says requires up to 36% fewer foundations than existing technologies and enables an estimated 5% greater energy output for a given parcel of land.
Pumped hydro storage takes shape in the Philippines
Prime Infra recently acquired a 500 MW pumped storage hydropower project in Rizal province in the Philippines. The company is also developing a 1.4 GW facility in the country.
UK startup unveils solar trees for commercial, industrial areas
United Kingdom-based SolarBotanic Trees will begin offering its solar trees in early 2023. The systems will use monocrystalline cells with an efficiency of up to 24%, encapsulated in a 3D shape.
NSW seeks to smooth path for 700 MW/1400 MWh super battery
The New South Wales government has moved to fast track the development of the 700 MW/1400 MWh Waratah Super Battery as it looks to shore up a reliable energy supply ahead of the impending closure of the country’s biggest coal generator.
UNSW engineers build high-speed motor to boost EV range
A team of engineers from the University of New South Wales has taken inspiration from a bridge in South Korea to develop a new magnetically driven motor which has the potential to increase the range of electric vehicles.
