Technology

Scientists at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology have developed a method for producing a ‘smart fabric’ with a supercapacitor energy storage device embedded in it. Its developers say it can be readily integrated with a solar cell or used to power wearable technology.

CQSola, the startup company of Australian energy innovators Ian and Tony Schirmer, will soon begin manufacturing a DC optimiser that promises to solve many of the inherent problems of solar farming, increase energy output, and drive greater insights into large-scale solar energy production.

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has today released its 2019 Electricity Statement of Opportunities (ESOO), a forecast of the supply and demand conditions across the National Electricity Market (NEM) as the country moves toward the 2019-20 summer. AEMO warned that a dearth of short and longer-term investment in dispatchable resources and transmission will ensure real-world impacts this summer.

Two reports have described how the world’s largest renewable energy market is moving towards maturity. According to the Brookings Institution, the Chinese clean energy market could become more open to Western investors and tech. A report by Fitch claims projects are moving back to inland provinces from coastal regions.

The University of Adelaide has begun construction on its new 1.2 MW solar farm which will be used to supply the Roseworthy Campus with clean energy and provide a practical source of study in the fields of solar PV, energy storage and solar site management.

Engie has raised eyebrows with the installation of several solar benches in Biarritz, southwestern France, as a local official has asked citizens to avoid sitting on them for long periods of time in order to keep their energy yield up. But the authorities over in Cannes are clearly impressed, as the municipal government in the French Riviera resort town has also revealed plans to buy more of the PV benches, which are designed by Croatian startup Include.

RedGrid sees a future where energy is locally sourced by communities. Using its Internet of Energy and “holochain” architecture, RedGrid’s prosumers are rewarded through the connection of distributed devices, systems and people into micro-grids, effectively, self-sustaining energy ecosystems.

Toulouse-based startup Sunbirds has set up an office, assembly workshop and maintenance centre in Brisbane. The company is providing solar-powered drones and drone-as-a-service solutions to surveyors, cattle stations and environmental monitoring companies.

MIT scientists have developed a class of liquid electrolyte with properties they say could open up new possibilities for improving the performance and stability of lithium batteries and supercapacitors.

A German research team claims to have created a new visualization technique it says can enable detailed mapping of the energetic landscapes of organic PV cells on a nano scale. The technique could lead to organic cells with reduced power losses.