Energy Storage

As part of The smarter E Europe show, Intersolar Europe 2022 will open its doors to the solar industry between May 11 and 13, in Munich, Germany. Once again, the pv magazine team will be on hand to report on the latest solar PV and energy storage product developments, technological trends, and insider gossip via our live blog. Stay tuned for our updates over the next three days!

Italy added 123 MW/263 MWh of energy storage capacity in the first quarter. Energy storage continues to grow in the country, with the regions of Lombardy and Veneto being the two largest contributors.

Chinese battery manufacturer BYD will this week introduce an expanded portfolio of energy storage systems designed for the commercial and industrial solar markets. At The smarter E, the company will also offer a sneak peak at a new high-voltage storage system expected to be launched later this year.

US government research shows that solar-plus-storage is starting to dominate the nation’s power grid queues, representing the majority of new power plant applications.

With an estimated 500 TWh of renewable electricity needed to produce the 10 million tons per year of clean hydrogen wanted by the European Union by 2030, the recent promise to ramp up European electrolyzer production capacity could give a boost to solar developers grappling with sluggish permitting regimes.

The new high-voltage Varta.wall storage device features an aluminum design and is available in capacities ranging from 10 kWh to 20 kWh. It also boasts an emergency power function.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory researchers are looking at perovskite materials for a solar-fuel platform that supports the US Department of Energy’s HydroGEN project.

Boston Materials and Arkema have unveiled new bipolar plates, while US researchers have developed a nickel and iron-based electrocatalyst that interacts with copper-cobalt for high-performance seawater electrolysis.

Germany’s Bosch wants to focus on green hydrogen production in Europe as a new dedicated business area. It said it will draw on its fuel cell expertise to build new productions facilities.

Japan’s Sumitomo Corp. has revealed plans to build a green hydrogen pilot plant at Rio Tinto’s Yarwun alumina refinery in the Australian state of Queensland.