Europe

Iberdrola is using a springer spaniel in a solar park to smell electrical problems that could lead to power cuts. It is also using a robotic dog to detect and analyse faults in substations.

The European Commission says it will set up the new European Hydrogen Bank by the end of this year, with additional plans to hand out 10-year contracts in a new hydrogen auction. Meanwhile, Fortescue Future Industries is setting up a project in Kenya.

The “Solar Box” mobile power plant is a container consisting of solar modules, a battery storage system, and a hydrogen storage system. According to Austria’s Alternative Energy Projects (AEP), the system starts at 94 kW and can be scaled up to more than 5 MW.

With calls for a revival in European PV manufacturing becoming more urgent, the Environmental, Social, and Governance credentials of its PV producers are being touted as a way in which manufacturing can be supported or even protected. The case for the ESG credentials of European manufacturing was advanced by multiple speakers at the 2023 SolarPower Summit this week in Brussels.

United Kingdom-based Above’s founder and CEO Will Hitchcock sits down with pv magazine to discuss the solar industry’s growing demand for drone-based aerial inspection and data analysis, the game changing utility of digital twins, and what the future holds for autonomous drone programs.

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

BayWa AG is strategically realigning BayWa re so it can sell its solar trade business. In the future, the subsidiary will focus on international projects as an independent power producer (IPP).

Sono Motors, a solar electric-vehicle manufacturer in Germany, has terminated its Sion passenger car development program, as it has failed to secure enough funding to support pre-series production. It says it will now focus exclusively on retrofitting and integrating its patented solar technology into third-party vehicles.

Only weeks after announcing its plan to build a lithium-ion battery gigafactory in Geelong, Australia-based startup Recharge Industries has bought collapsed battery maker Britishvolt – doubling its manufacturing ambitions. The takeover resuscitates Britishvolt’s gigafactory play in northern England, and means the little known startup now holds two significant battery making projects.

Grid operator Transgrid has partnered with German machine manufacturer Zeck for the use of its innovative steel separation technology. Zeck’s machine can process electricity transmission lines into a recycle-ready state onsite. Previously, Transgrid sent old transmission lines offshore for this process at a much higher cost to both the grid operator’s revenue and the environment.