Distributed Storage

A Swiss-Canadian consortium is developing a novel process to produce green hydrogen. Furthermore, Italy’s Snam is cooperating with IRENA and a French consortium wants to deploy high-end hydrogen storage systems for the railway sector.

Scientists in Thailand have built a hybrid system based on a 3 kW fuel cell and a 50 kWh lead-acid battery that is intended for storing solar power. They also sought to identify the best DC coupling voltage between the two devices in order to optimize their combined performance.

Closed-loop pumped-hydro storage offers more chances to minimize environmental effects on water sources and overcomes the problem of finding suitable sites. According to an Australian research team, closed-loop systems could prevail on open-loop systems in the future and this trend is confirmed by another group of scientists from the United States.

The Italian power electronics specialist has launched a single-phase inverter, a three-phase device, and a residential battery. The three products will be available for sale starting from January.

The propane-cooled 3.5 kW heat pump can be installed on both existing buildings and all-electric new buildings. It features a seasonal performance factor of 5.6 and is claimed to enable up to 80% of gas savings on heating and domestic hot water production.

Storing hydrogen in carbon nanotubes and other nanostructures is still far from reaching commercial maturity. A Japanese research team, however, has developed a new simulation technology that may help better estimate the energy needed to favor the ideal interaction between hydrogen and its storage material.

The Dutch event has attracted bumper crowds this week as the Dutch solar PV market continues to defy skeptics with its tremendous growth.

A German research group has identified Mongolia’s South Gobi region as an ideal location for the production of cost-competitive green hydrogen. Elsewhere, the U.K. is seeing more on and offshore-powered renewable hydrogen projects.

A 19.8 kW PV system is powering a telecommunications antenna at a French air control center. When it produces more energy than needed, the surplus is used to produce hydrogen which is then utilized to produce new electricity via a fuel cell system and provide power to the antenna during a period of up to five days. For short-term storage, lithium-ion batteries are used.

The battery is available in three versions, with storage capacities of 3 kWh, 5 kWh and 7 kWh with all devices featuring a nominal voltage of 51.2 V and a maximum charging voltage of 56.8 V.