August 1, 2022

In other news, QuantumScape announces 24-layer cell and new sampling agreements with car makers, Dutch solar car specialist Lightyear enters into technology sharing partnership with Koenigsegg, and Toyota Motor invests big in EV manufacturing in Indonesia.

As several US states will soon require smart inverters for new distributed resources, and more are considering such a requirement, nearly all manufacturers will be delivering smart inverters that meet a new industry standard by August 2023, finds an analysis by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council.

The system is reportedly able to refill about eight hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, each in three minutes. It is also able to supply electric power by using hydrogen produced with renewable energy within the station.

India installed 12.3 GW of solar in the 12 months ending March 31, 2022. The nation is expected to add a record 20 GW in the current fiscal year.

Scientists in Denmark have developed a storage technology that utilizes large underground water balloons and the pressure of the soil to activate a turbine to generate power. They are currently building a first 10 m x 10 m demonstrator to select critical technologies related to the membrane and to the construction of the “movable hill” that will form the terrain part of the battery.

Scientists in China worked with nickel-oxide as a charge transport layer in a perovskite solar cell, and were able to overcome several of the performance challenges associated with this material through careful surface engineering. Using this approach, the group fabricated an inverted perovskite solar cell measuring 156×156 mm that achieved 18.6% efficiency, along with ‘remarkable’ stability, according to its designers.

In June alone, new PV systems totaling 612 MW were connected to the German grid. The country’s cumulative operational PV capacity reached 59.9 GW at the end of June.

The 40 MW solar park is under development by Saint-Augustin Canada Electric Inc and planned to be located in Bas Saint Laurent, with completion scheduled for October 2026. Wind and hydropower were the prevailing sources in the procurement exercise.

Chinese manufacturer Bslbatt has unveiled an upgraded version of its residential battery. The device has a storage capacity ranging from 5.12 to 12.8 kWh and is reportedly able to provide steady operation for up to 6,000 charge cycles.

UK researchers have demonstrated a photovoltaic thermal panel that utilizes an MXene/water nanofluid for heat transfer. They said the nanofluid is not only able to improve the thermal and electrical performance of the panel, but also to reduce its size by 14.5%.