The mobility rEVolution: Volkswagen starts building battery cell plant
Volkswagen has started constructing its first battery cell factory in Germany, while Northvolt has raised $1.1 billion for a new battery gigafactory. Mercedes-Benz, meanwhile, has agreed to send second-life batteries to Canada for use in stationary storage applications.
pv magazine Roundtables: Videos on EU manufacturing, solar sustainability, decarbonizing homes, and PV on wheels sessions
With a strong focus on solar and battery energy storage and their role in decarbonization right throughout the European continent and economy, this year’s pv magazine Roundtables Europe focused on how green electrons, jobs, and manufacturing can deliver a cleaner, freer future for Europe. The first five sessions are now available to view on demand.
Plug-and-play mobile energy storage system
India’s AmpereHour Energy has released MoviGEN, a new lithium-ion-based, mobile energy storage system. It is scalable and can provide clean energy for applications such as on-demand EV charging, remote construction sites, and large-scale outdoor events.
PEM electrolysis coupled with thermal energy storage
Chinese researchers claim to have improved the performance of a proton exchange membrane electrolyzer by connecting it to a thermal energy storage system.
Management system combines rooftop PV, heat pumps
Swiss startup Solar Manager AG has designed a new energy management system that is compatible with the inverters of Solaredge, Solax, Kostal, Fiemer, Fronius, and other manufacturers.
Environmental impacts of perovskite PV
A life-cycle analysis of perovskite-silicon tandem modules indicates that additional environmental impacts in manufacturing are more than offset by the higher energy yield over their lifetime.
The stabilizing effect of vertical east-west oriented PV systems
German researchers have looked at how vertical PV systems could provide more electricity during periods of higher demand, while enabling a higher level of integration with agricultural activities.
A single solar panel can offset the carbon emissions of 10 trees
Using broad average values of 48.5 pounds of carbon sequestration per year for a mature tree, versus 0.85 pounds of emissions offset per kilowatt-hour of solar electricity, it’s clear that some tree clearing is acceptable from an emissions standpoint.
The weekend read: Europe’s inverted solar ambition
Solar inverter makers in Europe continue to ship a healthy proportion of the world’s premium string and central inverters, despite shrinking margins as Chinese competition grows. But the Europeans aren’t simply waiting around…
Enel, Vulcan Energy mulling lithium mining in Italy
Enel and Vulcan Energy are looking at the potential for lithium mining at a site near Rome.
