Distributed Storage

The Alpha 150 battery, produced in the Netherlands by Australian electronics manufacturer Redarx, has a lifespan of more than 5,000 cycles and a continuous discharge rating of 200 A.

South Korea’s LG Energy Solution says its new hybrid inverters are suitable for high-voltage and low-voltage configurations.

Israeli developer Tigi Solar is deploying an industrial heat pump to support the heating system at the facility of a food industry enterprise in Israel. The heat pump has an output of 780 kW and a coefficient of performance (COP) of 4.6. It uses existing ammonia chiller waste heat as the heat source and can reportedly provide a hot water temperature of 65 C.

Engineers at Melbourne’s RMIT University have developed a rechargeable “proton battery” that has the potential to store more energy than currently available lithium-ion batteries.

Clever-PV has developed a manufacturer-independent energy management solution for homes. The app is free to download from app stores and can be connected to PV systems, wall boxes, heat pumps, and other smart devices. This allows users to optimize the use of self-generated solar power.

Scientists in Italy have developed a 5 kW direct-expansion solar-assisted heat pump that uses alternatively two different evaporator technologies. The cooling of the PV module unit by CO2 evaporation increases power production by 8%.

Researchers in China have found that the addition of serine cations to the electrode/electrolyte interface of aqueous zinc-ion battery could effectively inhibit zinc dendrite growth and enable a highly reversible zinc anode.

Researchers in Canada have found that nearly zero-energy buildings (NZEBs) with on-site solar energy generation should not exceed an energy use intensity (EUI) of 50 kWh/m2a, which they said corresponds to a maximum of 10 floors. They also ascertained that the maximum permitted EUI by net-zero energy status is 17–28 kWh/m2a.

Vaulta, an Australian battery tech company, has developed its first dedicated residential battery. The small-scale energy storage system can purportedly operate for 4,000 cycles, with an 80% depth of discharge.

PV initiatives should be designed to last, as several well-meaning off-grid solar projects for the developing world have floundered over the years.