Technology

Erthos secured a US$17.5 million (AU$24 million) Series B from an investor who participated in the startup of Tesla and SpaceX. The utility-scale solar company has a 2.5GW project pipeline.

The realisation of biodegradable batteries is a step closer thanks to research from South Australia’s Flinders University, which has developed a 2.8V organic polymer battery. While this battery was made from synthetic polymers, research lead Dr Zhongfan Jia told pv magazine Australia the team’s future iterations will source “materials directly from nature” saying this promises to reduce waste and reliance on mined materials and could have novel applications in fields like biotech.

Underwriters Laboratories, a US non-profit standards development organisation, will carry out research into the operating and safety profile of Queensland company Redflow’s redox flow batteries under nominal and off-nominal conditions.

Elsewhere, Chinese researchers have synthesised ultrafine Pd100-xCux nanodot-modified TiO2 photocatalysts that display optimised energy barrier for interfacial hydrogen desertion, which reportedly exhibits excellent H2-evolution activity and stability, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has presented its plans to establish the Takasago Hydrogen Park, calling it the world’s first centre for validation of hydrogen-related technologies, from hydrogen production to power generation.

What can wave energy converters do that no other form of renewable energy can? Well, they can remove waves’ energy. For a country like Australia, where much of our population and wealth is concentrated on coastlines evermore frequently battered by extreme weather, this proposition is particularly attractive. Especially if the technology is able to offer both protection and green electricity without radically altering marine ecosystems and aesthetics. “No one has looked at what we’re looking at before: combining power generation with coastal protection and trying to control it,” Professor Richard Manasseh told pv magazine Australia.

ARENA will give $22.8 million in funding to Viva Energy to build a renewable hydrogen and EV charging service station opposite its petroleum refinery in Geelong, Victoria.

Australian maritime hydrogen company Poseidon Marine H2 says it expects to have a hydrogen-powered boat in Australian waters within the next 18 months after bringing on board the principal engineers from Dynamic Efficiency.

China’s largest state-owned grid operator and power utility plans to deploy the world’s biggest battery fleet and almost quadruple its pumped hydro storage by 2030, thus supporting the nation’s switch to renewable energy sources.

Scientists in Australia have developed an optimisation framework for building-integrated photovoltaics that allows the selection of design variables according to user preferences. Their model considers PV-related features such as tilt angle, window-to-wall ratio (WWR), PV placement, and PV product type, as well as objective functions and constraints such as the net present value and the payback period.

Silicon carbide (SiC) has promised inverter makers higher power density, higher efficiency, and a total bill of materials that comes in closer to its more established rival in silicon. Has SiC finally arrived? Tristan Rayner spoke to the people at the forefront of the wider-bandgap material to find out the back story and what’s next.