Oceania

A green hydrogen collective that includes Australia’s Fortescue is set to share in more than $11 billion (USD 7 billion) of United States government funding as the Biden administration seeks to accelerate the commercial-scale production and deployment of low-cost, renewable hydrogen.

Australia’s vast distances make the supply of electricity via traditional grids expensive and even dangerous. With demand growing for agricultural goods produced with low-carbon emissions, solar and energy storage is being embraced even by skeptical farmers.

Energy security concerns are mounting as renewable projects and transmission lines are delayed. In New South Wales, for instance, the government has flagged it may defer the closure of Eraring coal power station beyond 2025.

South Korean steelmaker Posco and French renewables giant Engie are investigating the feasibility of establishing a large-scale renewable hydrogen project in Western Australia that would provide fuel for a green iron venture planned for the state’s Pilbara region.

The company supplying the technology for what has been branded Australia’s “biggest battery” has cautioned that manufacturers must ramp up their focus on hardware, increase investment in advanced software and improve testing practices to minimise the risk of lithium-ion batteries catching fire.

Four solar pioneers, including the Australian scientists Martin Green and Andrew Blakers, have been awarded the world’s most prestigious engineering prize for their groundbreaking research into solar cell technology.

One of Queensland’s largest clean energy projects has reached a new milestone with exploratory works and detailed site investigations commencing for the proposed 2 GW Borumba Dam pumped hydro project being developed near Gympie in the state’s southeast.

A team of Dutch university students under the banner Top Dutch Solar Racing has installed perovskite silicon tandem cells in its entry in the 16th edition of Bridgestone World Solar Challenge. The upcoming race is a six-day, 3,000km expedition across Australia, from Darwin to Adelaide.

Fortescue is pressing ahead with the development of a 70,000-tonne green hydrogen production facility at Gibson Island in Queensland, tapping North American hydrogen technology company Plug Power to supply 550 MW of electrolysers for the proposed project.

South Korean electronics manufacturer LG has updated the recall of its solar batteries with Australia’s consumer watchdog warning owners of LG-branded batteries to “immediately” switch off their solar storage systems amid concerns the battery may overheat and ignite.