Technology and R&D

An international group of scientists has developed a comprehensive method to track the microscopic processes at work in lithium batteries. Employing a ‘virtual unrolling’ model developed for ancient manuscripts too sensitive to be opened, the group peeked inside the layers of a commercial battery to gain a better understanding of the processes at work and the degradation mechanisms affecting them. Their findings, the group says, could provide a benchmark for battery characterization.

The Australian research team which developed the device said the higher efficiency was achieved through a nanowire design which eliminates the interface inside the titanium dioxide band.

Melbourne startup Relectrify is on the verge of a U.S. breakthrough with its highly efficient and cost-effective battery storage technology.

With electric vehicles making up only 3% of the global car market last year, analyst WoodMac says battery packs need to be cheaper and lighter and range anxiety must be addressed to change the habits of drivers.

Perth-based Australian Vanadium has received another boost from the Federal Government with the award of a further $1.25 million research and development grant to fund research into improving vanadium processing.

West Australian peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading pioneer Power Ledger has won a lucrative contract with Alperia SpA, one of Italy’s largest renewable electricity utilities.

Australian researchers have unveiled hydrogenation technology to reduce light and elevated temperature-induced degradation in Czochralski silicon PERC solar cells. The developers say the process can minimize degradation without sacrificing performance in cells and modules.

Scientists at the University of Southern Denmark working with sodium-ion batteries found that a new electrode material incorporating iron, manganese and phosphorous could increase both the power and capacity of the batteries.

Solarwatt’s Vision glass-glass solar PV modules have pushed the technology’s resilience even further after passing Aussie cyclone testing in Darwin. The success arouses new attention to the competing riders on the bifacial wave, glass-glass and backsheets.

With solar grade polysilicon prices having plummeted in recent years, cutting down on consumption of the material has not been a priority. But strategies exist and significant savings can be made through deploying thinner wafers that use less silicon, insists a new paper published by MIT and NREL. And as manufacturers are increasingly hitting dead ends on other routes to cost reduction, this option could be back on the table for many.