Asia

“Unprecedented” was a term widely used in 2020, as the world grappled with the Covid-19 pandemic. The same word can be similarly applied to the plans and investments in production capacity announced by Chinese PV manufacturers right across the supply chain. But what shape are these expansions taking and what is driving this renewed confidence? Vincent Shaw reports from Shanghai.

When coupled to gigawatt-scale solar and wind generation, green hydrogen could be the clean fuel to unlock hard-to-electrify sectors of the economy. But first it must be transported cost-effectively to where it’s needed.

Earlier this month, London-based Eco Energy World announced a $500 million project to combine its ready to build 300 MW solar plant north of Gladstone, Queensland, with a 200 MW hydrogen plant and 100 MW of battery energy storage. pv magazine Australia sat down with EEW CEO Svante Kumlin to discuss the project, the green hydrogen future, and Australia’s future in it.

Rooftops will have to supply a third of the 524 GW of solar generation capacity needed by 2045 to reach a zero-carbon economy by mid century, according to an academic paper. The researchers also suggested green hydrogen should not play a central role in the nation’s energy transition.

Through the fourth tender of the LSS program for large scale PV, the Malaysian authorities have pre-selected 30 solar projects with a combined capacity of 823 MW. The lowest bid came in at MYR0.1768/kWh ($0.0429) and the highest at MYR0.2481/kWh.

A West Australian vanadium explorer, Technology Metals, has signed an agreement with a prominent Japanese company to explore the possibility of manufacturing vanadium electrolyte in Australia – a key component of the increasingly popular vanadium redox flow batteries.

Scientists in China and the United States investigated the inner workings of aluminium-ion batteries. With new insights into mechanisms at work within the battery during cycling, the group was able to demonstrate a battery capable of ultrafast charging, with the highest capacity so far reported for an aluminium battery.

Tensions are heating up throughout the world over the issue of forced labor. Calls are increasing for supply chain transparency, and recently published EU draft legislation on corporate due diligence and accountability should improve upon the currently available voluntary measures, which have been described as largely ineffective. With this in mind, pv magazine’s UP Initiative will spend the second quarter of 2021 looking at what solar and energy storage companies can do to lead by positive example when it comes to the workers who are involved in the production of their products and services.

Enhanced module appearance and power output can be achieved by a smart cell interconnection technique Longi is employing in its Hi-MO5 module series. But as with all new technologies, there are potential pitfalls.

The latest product in the Vertex series from the Chinese manufacturer has a power conversion efficiency of 21.6%.