The record-breaking size and bustling halls of Enex Expo showed that the Polish PV market has no intention of slowing down. While last year’s switch from net metering to net billing is expected to continue to reverberate through the residential solar market, the commercial and industrial (C&I) and utility-scale PV market segments stand ready to pick up the slack.

Researchers at the University of Hong Kong have discovered a series of anionic network solid electrolytes that can deliver at least a fourfold improvement in cationic transport for lithium-metal battery applications.

Volvo Penta, a Swedish marine and industrial engine manufacturer, has developed a subsystem solution based on the Volvo Group’s electromobility platform. It is optimized for battery energy storage system (BESS) applications produced by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

An international group of researchers has designed a new hybrid photovoltaic-liquid air energy storage (PV-LAES) system. Their economic evaluation for the proposed 2 MW PV-LAES project showed that the investment payback period can be within 10 years, and the accumulated net profit can reach up to $2.2 million from a life-cycle perspective.

Battery energy storage saw a major increase in contracted capacity in British auctions this year, with many utility-scale projects securing long-term deals. The business case, however, is not as strong for all storage durations.

US researchers have developed a new lithium-air battery with solid electrolyte and the potential to reach a record energy density that is nearly four times that of lithium-ion batteries. The test cell demonstrated stability over 1,000 charge and discharge cycles.

Sono Motors, a solar electric-vehicle manufacturer in Germany, has terminated its Sion passenger car development program, as it has failed to secure enough funding to support pre-series production. It says it will now focus exclusively on retrofitting and integrating its patented solar technology into third-party vehicles.

US engineers have built a scalable thermal energy storage prototype system that combines the best latent and sensible heat transfers. The technology, which is now market-ready after three years of testing, consists of engineered cementitious materials and thermosiphons in a combination that enables fast, efficient thermal performance at low cost.

PowerFlex CEO Raphael Declercq speaks to pv magazine about growing demand for solar-optimized smart charging. He says the company, which is owned by EDF Renewables, can control batteries and loads in microgrids with its newly expanded EV-charging management software.

CATL’s new lithium pricing structure gives Chinese original equipment manufacturers (OEM) an effective discount of more than 20%. It is making the move to win more orders amid a slowdown in the electric-vehicle market and the ongoing efforts of cell manufacturers to secure raw materials.