Researching some cool new battery materials
Scientists from China and the United States have developed an additive for electrolyte materials they say could improve the operating temperature range for lithium-ion batteries, allowing them to operate down to minus 40 degrees Celsius without compromising performance at temperatures up to 60 degrees Celsius.
Energy sector gets first open-source, tailor-made blockchain
A public enterprise grade energy blockchain has powered up with the promise to accelerate a low-carbon, distributed electricity future. For the first time, energy sector companies are hosting validator nodes on a decentralized network as they seek to adapt to a more digitalized and decentralized energy system.
The first serious solar car is here: Lightyear One
Netherlands-based EV startup Lightyear has released a prototype for its first solar-powered, long-range EV. Is the car really the environmental dream it’s pitched as?
Another €4.4 million for solar-plus-storage incentives in northern Italy
After earmarking €3 million last year and €4 million in 2017, the Italian region of Lombardy has decided to further support residential and commercial storage projects linked to renewables.
Comtec sells slice of EV unit to online gaming company The9
The Nasdaq-listed game developer will offer shares in return for a 9.9% stake in the Chinese mono solar manufacturer’s Kexin electric vehicle and storage business.
India mulls ban on diesel and petrol driven vehicles
The new government’s chief policy thinktank has suggested banning sales of non-electric two and three wheelers in 2025 and cars, trucks and buses five years later as well as forcing public fleets and the cars used by ride hailing apps to be electric.
China’s grid planners could learn from European experience
The world’s biggest solar market is on track for an unsubsidized future but policymakers continue to grapple with grid planning. A report by the German Energy Agency has offered suggestions on how China’s approach to grid design could be tweaked to ensure priority dispatch for PV while slashing administrative costs and reining in renewable energy losses.
Solar, storage and wind can keep us on track as far as 2030
This year’s New Energy Outlook report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance predicts renewables can keep us on track for less than two degrees of global heating for the next decade. But after that, other technologies will have to do their bit.
US State Dept issues strategy to diversify clean energy, storage supply chains
The Trump administration is acknowledging global demand for clean energy and energy storage with the US State Department’s new strategy.
Northvolt secures $1bn for battery gigafactory in Sweden
Initially, the company will construct a 16 GWh factory plus a joint venture fab with Volkswagen in Germany, which will also have a throughput of 16 GWh. Both factories could be extended to tap further into the large market for battery cells in Europe.
