Technology and R&D

Victorian hydrogen company Energys has unveiled its third-generation, locally-manufactured Hydrogen Fuel Cell Generators, five of which are to provide backup power for Telstra’s remote telecommunications towers as part of a Victorian pilot. The company says it is already constructing a green hydrogen generation plant too, supported by funding from the Victorian government.

The Siemens Energy-led Hyflexpower consortium has conducted a series of tests on a gas turbine located on the premises of Smurfit Kappa, a paper-based packaging supplier.

Brisbane-based Vaulta has developed a lighter, smaller battery casing with fewer parts, which makes it easier to assemble modules and repair faulty components. CEO Dominic Spooner argues that the company’s patented technology has the potential to significantly reduce battery waste.

South Australia-based Sparc Hydrogen will use federal government funding to fast track the development of next generation photocatalytic technology to produce commercially viable green hydrogen from water using concentrated solar.

An Australian software startup that aims to make it easier for energy providers and solar installers to assess the feasibility of commercial-scale renewable energy projects will now pursue global expansion plans after completing a seed funding round.

The 5 kWh battery solution uses Ecoflow’s PV-coupling technology that reportedly ensures an easy connection to existing solar arrays. The new product features an output voltage range of 150-800 V.

The solar-powered Stella Terra test car from The Netherlands’ Eindhoven University has just completed a 1,000 kilometre test drive from northern Morocco to the Sahara. In Australia, the solar car racing team from the University of New South Wales says the real challenge is to find new ways to push the boundaries of solar car races.

Solax claims its new hybrid inverters can oversize PV systems by 200%, making them an ideal solution for commercial rooftop installations. There are five versions, featuring rated power outputs ranging from 15 kW to 30 kW.

Falling ceramic particles less than half a millimetre in size have been used by Australia’s national science agency, the CSIRO, to store energy in a concentrated solar thermal system. The team recently achieved a temperature of 803°C using the process at its pilot plant in NSW.

RMIT University in Australia has developed new software that integrates product, regulation, technical, economic, and construction data. It helps architects and engineers to estimate the cost of building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) during the conceptual design phase.