Technology and R&D

In a world-first, scientists in Australia and the United States have managed to upconvert light from below the silicon bandgap with the help of oxygen into high energy light that can be captured by silicon solar cells.

The Chinese manufacturer has claimed a world record for a large-size, contact-passivated solar cell. The result, certified by Germany’s Institute for Solar Energy Research in Hamelin, betters the company’s previous record by almost 0.6%.

Commercialisation of hydrogen production is a Government priority. Today seven applicants for ARENA funding of large-scale hydrogen proposals made it through to the next round, in which they will submit full applications for projects that will be expected to commence construction in 2022.

IHS Markit’s latest report looks at a wave of new investments in large-scale projects. Economies of scale and technological improvements, as well as renewables deployment, could make green hydrogen price-competitive with grey and blue hydrogen.

The Australian Hydrogen Council is making the most of its universal popularity by singing five new Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with key organisations in the Asia-Pacific and Canada including the Clean Energy Council and Bioenergy Australia.

Danish researchers have shown that adding 250 W solar panels to all of the buggies in a 50-cart fleet is a profitable investment. With an upfront investment of around €75,000, annual benefits of around €15,000 are possible, they claim.

The faucet of federal funding for the future hydrogen economy keeps on flowing today as Minister for Education Dan Tehan announced $4.9m in funding for the development of the ARC Training Centre for the Global Hydrogen Economy. The announcement comes on the back of the establishment of the UNSW’s Hydrogen Energy Research Centre, a university-to-industry institute.

The University of Newcastle’s development of world-leading printed solar technology has taken a massive step toward rapid commercialisation with its first public display. Due to the technology’s panoramic applicability, this day may very well be looked back upon as the day the very world as we know it changed, and changed for the better. 

The Northern Territory is an energy powerhouse, pulsing with oil and gas expertise, LNG processing plants and a burgeoning solar scene. The government’s new Renewable Hydrogen Strategy seeks to leverage such skill sets and infrastructure towards a green-hydrogen industry and net-zero emissions by 2050…

Scientists led by MIT have suggested chitin, a carbon and nitrogen-rich material made from waste shrimp shells, could produce sustainable electrodes for vanadium redox flow batteries and other energy storage technologies.