Technology

Stanford University researchers have created a model to assess how much compressed air storage capacity might be needed for the deep decarbonization of power systems, while compensating for the variability of wind and solar-based power systems. They applied the model to California’s energy system and found that compressed air could be very competitive on a dollars-per-kilowatt-hour basis.

Hungary’s Platio has inaugurated a solar footpath in the Dutch city of Groningen. The installation consists of 2,544 monocrystalline Patio solar pavers with a 21.8% efficiency rating. It will generate 55,000 kWh of electricity per year and can purportedly withstand a pressure of 2 tons without microcracks.

Set to commence production shortly, the CO2-to-methanol plant is being established at NTPC’s existing thermal power station in Vindhyachal, Madhya Pradesh. It will convert 20 tonnes-per-day (tpd) of CO2 to 10 tpd methanol through a catalytic hydrogenation process, utilizing CO2 from thermal plant flue gas through a carbon capture unit and green hydrogen produced by electrolysis.

Altech Batteries, a battery tech company in Western Australia, has included “game-changing” sodium chloride technology in its new battery 1 MWh GridPack. It said it expects the new systems to be up to 40% cheaper to produce than dominant lithium-ion alternatives.

Data collected from a 30 MW PV project in China’s Tianjin Province demonstrates that n-type tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) modules achieve a little more than 5% more energy yield than p-type PERC. Analysis by JinkoSolar, which supplied its TOPCon modules to the project, credits the n-type modules’ increased performance to a better temperature coefficient in the project’s hot climate, higher bifaciality and lower degradation.

Nextracker will supply its optimized bifacial solar trackers for NTPC Renewable Energy’s 1.568 GWp PV project in the Indian state of Gujarat. The project, India’s largest contiguous solar power plant, is being implemented by Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy.

Amprius has obtained third-party performance verification for a battery cell that offers high power density in a lightweight package.

Sunmaxx says Fraunhofer ISE has confirmed the 80% efficiency of its new photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) module. It consists of 108 PERC half-cells in M10 format, with 400 W of electrical output and 1,200 W of thermal output.

Researchers at IIT Mandi developed high-quality, uniform thin films of nickel oxide on the silicon substrate using an aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition technique with nickel nitrate as the precursor material. 

While shingled cells have been around for a while, Tongwei’s adoption of the technology is notable as it is a manufacturer with considerable scale. If shingling can overcome some hurdles, it could prove a welcome solution as unshaded sites for PV become elusive in mature solar markets.