Technology

Taking a rigorous approach to inspection is crucial across the energy storage supply chain. Chi Zhang and George Touloupas, of Clean Energy Associates, explore common manufacturing defects in battery energy storage systems (BESS) and how quality-assurance regimes can detect them.

Australian energy storage startup Green Gravity will explore opportunities to deploy its gravitational energy storage technology in Europe after inking an agreement with the Romanian state-owned energy company Complexul Energetic Valea Jiului SA.

The US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has determined that Antora Energy’s solar-plus-storage system meets the US military’s stringent standards, as it significantly outperforms emergency diesel generators in survivability probabilities.

With the clean energy transition driving a global increase in demand for critical minerals, the Queensland government has declared Townsville will be home to Australia’s first state-owned processing facility for critical minerals like vanadium.

Western Australian battery technology company Altech Batteries has updated the design of its 1 MWh sodium chloride battery energy storage system, paving the way for the modular units to be stacked three high, allowing for smaller project footprints that conserves valuable land area.

Developed by scientists in India, the global maximum power point (GMPP) technique is based on the voltage and current of strings in a PV array. The research group tested it in computer simulation, as well as through an experimental setup.

Researchers from the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) have used advanced neutron scattering techniques to better understand what leads to catastrophic failures in lithium ion batteries.

Sydney startup AMSL Aero has been awarded $5.43 million by ARENA to develop a hydrogen-powered electric aircraft capable of taking off and landing vertically. The startup has previously flown a battery-only prototype, but says adding a hydrogen fuel cell will increase the range to 1000km.

Chinese module maker BYD is producing a new bifacial monocrystalline panel at its manufacturing facility in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The module has a power output of up to 355 W and a conversion efficiency of 16.33%.

The US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has confirmed Longi’s achievement of a world record-breaking efficiency rating of 33.9% for a perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell.