Technology and R&D

With this arrangement, Neogen gets access to a proven global technology to manufacture electrolytes at scale for lithium-ion batteries in India.

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.

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.

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.

The state-owned oil and gas major targets 200 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2050. It also plans to have around 2 million metric tons of green hydrogen capacity in its fold by 2050.