Technology

The US electric car manufacturer is reportedly shifting to cobalt-free lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries for its utility-scale battery.

American Resources Corporation is developing a process to separate pure rare earth metals from lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles or power plants based on renewable energy. The technique is described as a two-zone ligand-assisted displacement chromatography (LAD) that is able to produce metals with high yields and purity of over 99%.

Called Solar Mountain, the permanent installation should be built in Nevada with modular design elements of recycled wood and other environmentally friendly materials.

Scientists investigating the aging mechanisms affecting today’s lithium-ion batteries observed that the loss of lithium over time is one of the main causes of performance loss. With this in mind, they developed and tested a “relithiation” process that promises to eliminate much of the cost and complexity from recycling battery components and materials.

A solar racking system’s strength is determined in part by the metal racking, but it also depends on the roof’s underlying structure. Rafters and any supporting structures must be strong enough to withstand your region’s maximum wind and snow loads.

Gautam Mohanka, managing director of New Delhi-headquartered Gautam Solar, told pv magazine its Haridwar module factory, now scaled up to 250 MW, is producing panels with a power output of up to 400 W, using mono PERC and polycrystalline cells.

The “graphene revolution” is almost here. Australian scientists specializing in aluminum-ion batteries are now working with Brisbane-based Graphene Manufacturing Group to commercialize a technology that could transform energy storage.

The cell, which looks externally like a device with a two-terminal architecture, was built with III-V semiconductor layers that were connected to the silicon sub-cell on the atomic level. The cell may be used in electrically powered aircraft and drones.

Italian start-up Genius Watter has developed a solar desalination solution that is claimed to be particularly suitable for remote areas with no connection to grid electricity. The system is able to produce up to 1,000 cubic meters of potable water per day at an opex of €0.20 per cubic meter.

The Central Electricity Authority, CEEW’s Centre for Energy Finance, and Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation have launched an online dashboard that captures daily generation data at the state, regional and national levels for the aggregate 93 GW of installed RE capacity in India. It also captures this data at a plant level for a subset of projects.