Amorphous lithium discovery could lead to new high-performance batteries
Researchers have set out to study the kinetics of lithium deposition during cycling in a battery. By changing different parameters, they’ve found that it’s fairly easy to put lithium into amorphous form, which is superior on an electromechanical level.
New reports look at 2019 Arizona battery explosion
A series of failures triggered thermal runaway and an explosion at Arizona Public Service Electric’s McMicken battery facility, according to two new reports that look at how to prevent similar disasters in the future.
Texan utility tenders 900 MW of solar, 50 MW of storage
CPS Energy has taken the first step towards bringing those volumes – plus 500 MW of firming capacity – to the Lone Star State in pursuit of the power company’s 50%-renewables-by-2040 goal.
Perovskite structure also benefits batteries
Scientists at Germany’s Karlsruher Institute of Technology are leading an investigation into a new lithium-ion battery anode. The innovation has a perovskite crystalline structure and, according to the researchers, could provide strong all-round performance from simpler, cheaper production methods than those used for other anode materials.
Testing floating PV, storage and hydrogen at Netherlands’ largest off-shore wind complex
Energy companies Shell and Eneco have secured the tender to build the 759 MW wind power plant. The partners will build a pilot solar park, short-term storage capacity and a green hydrogen plant at the facility, to assess their capabilities of balancing intermittent power.
Hydrogen storage in salt caverns in France
Hydrogène de France and gas grid company Teréga plan to launch a feasibility study for a 1.5 GWh pilot hydrogen storage project in caverns in the southwest of the country.
Portuguese consortium plans 1 GW green hydrogen cluster
A consortium will develop the huge project with Danish wind turbine maker Vestas by 2030.
PG&E, Tesla start building world’s biggest battery
The 182.5 MW/730 MWh Moss Landing energy storage system could eventually be expanded to 1.1 GWh – putting it on track to overshadow Tesla’s massive Hornsdale project in Australia.
Northvolt secures $1.6bn backing for twin battery gigafactories
In a little over ten years, Northvolt aims to pour 150 GWh of batteries onto the European market, annually. The company is also working to source end-of-life batteries for half its raw materials.
Microsoft trials hydrogen-powered data centers
The software giant has begun testing hydrogen fuel cells as a back-up power source at one of its U.S. data centers. A 250 kW pilot system successfully powered part of the facility for 48 hours and the company is now eyeing 3 MW systems to replace back-up diesel generators.
