Technology

Australian battery recycling startup Renewable Metals intends to scale and commercialise its lithium-ion battery recycling technology that converts battery waste into high-value battery metals after closing an $8 million (USD 5.08 million) investment round.

Australian technology company Infravision plans to “supercharge” the development of its drone-enabled powerline stringing system and software technology solutions after securing a “game-changing” $36 million (USD 23 million) from global energy and utility investors.

Mattiq says it is evaluating “millions of combinations” of different alternatives to iridium for PEM electrolysis, while Hystar, Air Liquide, and Trillium Energy Solutions have revealed plans for the North American hydrogen market.

Australia will need a 40% increase in workers in building and engineering trades by 2050 to enable the energy transition, a new report from the Australian government says.

According to recently published employment report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the global solar industry employed around 5 million people at the end of last year. The report also reveals that women’s employment in the industry was “uneven”, with females mostly hired for administrative positions (58%) followed by science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (38%) and non-STEM technical positions (35%).

Encouraged by lab results and a feasibility study, Swedish startup, Green14, in collaboration with Sweden’s Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) plans to build a pilot-scale reactor to make solar grade silicon with a hydrogen plasma process. The company sees the pilot as a step towards using a more sustainable method to produce solar grade silicon for the PV industry at its own gigawatt-scale plant.

Western Australian solar window company ClearVue Technologies has completed third-party testing with the Singapore Building and Construction Authority, saying the results illustrate strong thermal and energy outcomes.

A package of major regulatory and market reforms designed to support Western Australia’s energy transformation have gone live. The changes relate to the state’s main islanded grid, known as the SWIS.

Dragonfly Energy is using lithium hydroxide recovered from recycled batteries to manufacture battery cells, with Aqua Metals leading the way in recycling solutions for materials in the supply chains for energy storage and electric vehicles.

Oxford Institute for Energy Studies researchers have developed a cost-effective material to absorb hydrogen at non-cryogenic temperatures, which they consider optimal for fuel cell storage systems.