News

Researchers in South African have developed a new cleaning system for solar panels that uses a colour-sensing light-to-frequency converter to detect dirt. It can reportedly remove about 95% of the dust from a PV panel in less than a minute, at a lower cost than other systems.

A reduction of silver consumption in PV production is required on the way to terawatt scale. Given this, the time may have come for the commercialisation of new copper plating technologies – doing away with the need for silver in cell metallisation altogether. However, the history of plating technology is littered with cautionary tales.

The South Australia government has called for proposals from industry partners to build a $593 million (USD 398 million) green hydrogen power plant, including 250 MW of hydrogen electrolyser facilities and fit-for-purpose hydrogen storage infrastructure at Whyalla on the east coast of the Eyre Peninsula.

Des Hang on the three main doubts that still linger around Australia’s burgeoning electric vehicle (EV) industry.

Queensland Pacific Metals announced it has secured all of the key approvals required for it to build its $2.1 billion (USD 1.41 billion) battery materials plant within the Lansdown Eco-Industrial Precinct near Townsville in northern Queensland.

A new player has entered the Australian renewable energy sector with New Zealand-based infrastructure investor Infratil confirming that its new majority-owned clean energy platform Mint Renewables will look at wind, solar and energy storage opportunities with an initial investment of $300 million (USD 203 million).

Controlling the crystallisation process of perovskite thin films is one of the most challenging aspects for upscaling the solar technology but a team of Australian researchers claims to have made a breakthrough, creating next-generation PV cells that have the potential to rival the durability of silicon alternatives.

Perth-based Provaris Energy said it is moving forward with its compressed H2 carrier, while Princeton University researchers have published a study on how the transition to hydrogen-based energy systems would affect the tropospheric burdens of methane and hydrogen.

The POL Lux from Sweden is a catamaran boat design with dual electric motors and a solar canopy that can covert into a private sleeping area.

Queensland government-owned generator Stanwell Energy and Japan’s largest hydrogen supplier Iwatani Corporation are preparing to commence a Front-End Engineering Design study as they drive towards a final investment decision on a 3 GW green hydrogen project being developed near Gladstone on the central Queensland coast.