Flexible printed solar film research tacks closer to commercial viability
Researchers at the CSIRO have taken their pilot-scale prodcution of flexible printed solar film to a new level, following the official launch of its Printed Photovoltaic Facility in southwest Melbourne, Victoria.
Mars plans concentrated solar thermal tech for Victorian plant
The federal government will tip more than $17 million into what it said will be Australia’s first commercial concentrated solar thermal heat plant, expanding the application of solar power beyond electricity to heat generation.
New passivation strategy increases efficiency of chloride-iodide-based perovskite solar cells by 15%
Although local defects in chloride-iodide-based perovskite are hard to avoid due to ion migration, a group of scientists from the University of New South Wales has found a way to passivate them. They used different combinations of 4-chlorobenzylammonium chloride and 4-chlorobenzylammonium bromide on top of the hole transport layer and reached up to 15% improvement in efficiency.
Battery start-up opens ‘Australian first’ factory on Gold Coast
Elumina has officially opened a manufacturing and development centre in Queensland’s southeast that it says will be the first in Australia capable of producing both community-scale lithium batteries and electric vehicle chargers.
AnteoTech lands $4 million boost for homegrown battery tech
Queensland-based energy tech company AnteoTech has secured almost $4 million in funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency to help fast-track the development of its silicon-dominant lithium-ion battery anode technology.
Li-S Energy nears 500 Wh/kg with lithium-sulphur battery tech
Australian battery tech company Li-S Energy has announced a major improvement in the performance of its lithium-sulphur battery technology with its latest iteration achieving an energy density close to 500 Wh per kilogram.
PV Hardware unveils solar tracker
The Spanish company said that its new tracker “is designed for maximum adaptability to any terrain” and is compatible with all PV modules.
Sungrow provides support for tough grid connection process
Labelled the “most difficult” in the world, Australia’s regulatory environment and grid connection process for new large-scale renewable energy generation and storage has also been lauded as the standard bearer for the global market.
Trina Solar claims 25.9% efficiency for large-area industrial TOPCon solar cells
The Chinese manufacturer said the result was confirmed by Germany’s Institute for Solar Energy Research in Hamelin.
Larger, thinner… and weaker?
With hailstorms in Australia and the United States severely damaging solar arrays – including “golf-ball sized” hail at the 350 MW Fighting Jays project in Texas in March 2024 – insurers are raising premiums and reducing or canceling hail coverage. Everoze Partner Simon Mason discusses the challenges the industry faces in minimising its hail risk exposure.
