Technology and R&D

The ARC Research Hub for Integrated Energy Storage Solutions has a broad research mandate as it looks for innovative energy storage solutions for the energy transition, but some of the nation’s finest minds are now working on them together.

Professor Guan Yeoh is an essential part of a project to commercialise a solar polymer membrane called ‘Solar Skin’, which can generate energy from both direct and indirect sunlight and off both vertical and horizontal surfaces. The technology has the potential to transform every CBD and local government area into a solar farm. pv magazine Australia sat down with Professor Yeoh for a Q&A.

Scientists at Australia’s University of Queensland have set a new world record for a quantum dot solar cell. The group fabricated a 0.1cm² device from perovskite and measured power conversion efficiency at 16.6%. The record has been verified by the United States National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

The PHASA-35 crewless solar and battery-powered aircraft completed its first test flight this week. The pioneering solar-powered aircraft could fill a niche as a cheap alternative to satellites.

UNSW student groups have been visiting Tanna Island in Vanuatu for over a decade. The solar PV solutions they’ve brought with them have helped many communities, but since Cyclone Pam tore through the region in 2015, sustainable solar is more important more than ever.

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.