Technology and R&D

McKinsey & Company says in a new report that payback periods for heat pumps could fall by up to 38% by 2030.

Last year was another landmark 12 months for energy storage, with all indicators pointing to a massive surge in demand. Supply chain instability and inflation saw battery prices rise, but the industry demonstrated an ability to swiftly react to geopolitical developments. Marija Maisch examines five trends driving the market.

Western Australian solar window company ClearVue Technologies has won a tender to complete a study of its electricity generating glazing technology, which will be installed at a Hong Kong government department’s headquarters as part of a fully-funded field trial.

Australian energy management software company SwitchDin has announced it will build the Southern Hemisphere’s largest lab dedicated to researching and testing distributed energy resources at its headquarters in the New South Wales Hunter region.

An Australian startup spawned by Monash University research has unveiled what it claims to be the world’s most powerful air-cooled electric motor for aircraft, potentially paving the way for the electrification of the aviation sector.

German scientists have investigated the role of surface texturing in perovskite-silicon tandem cells and have found that several new processes offer the ability to etch smaller, more uniform textures onto the surface of a silicon cell than today’s industry standard. This could help to ease the subsequent growth of a perovskite cell on top of the silicon, enabling researchers and manufacturers to target higher performance.

Allegro Energy, an Australian startup seeking to commercialise research into microemulsions to make non-toxic electrolytes that are cheaper “by factor of 100,” has commissioned a pilot-scale manufacturing line for supercapacitors in Newcastle, NSW.

Worldwide Universities Network researchers used cheap and abundant starting materials to synthesise a small molecule organic electrode material and achieved a considerable performance boost with various battery chemistries. The new cathode material exhibited unparalleled cycling stability, ultra-high capacity, and rate capability in aqueous zinc-ion batteries.

Olivier Corradi, the CEO of Electricity Maps, speaks to pv magazine about why 24/7 granular accounting of electricity is key to decarbonisation and how the company tracks the carbon intensity of otherwise elusive electrons.

Competition is intensifying in the electrolyser space. With the International Energy Agency (IEA) expecting 380 GW of hydrogen production capacity in 2030, four different technologies will likely become prominent as demand spikes. We take a look at the market.