Highlights

Although self-consumption of solar power is the optimal economic approach, the expense of household batteries at present outweighs the increased ability they offer to use electricity generated on the roof. Whether aggregated ‘virtual batteries’ offer better returns is an open question, due to lack of electricity company transparency.

The research group led by Professor Martin Green has published Version 58 of the Solar cell efficiency tables. He spoke with pv magazine about the criteria with which these tables are compiled and the importance of result certification by independent third parties.

Developed by U.S. scientists, the Hydrogen Energy Storage Evaluation Tool (HESET) can assess the economic and technical characteristics of individual system components and the modeling of each hydrogen pathway. Furthermore, it can help understand how hydrogen storage can be used for various grid and end-user services.

Urban Electric Power has been accepted into EPRI’s Incubatenergy Labs program to prove the value of its new battery tech to some of the top utilities in the United States.

Scientists in the U.S. developed a new cathode design for lithium-ion batteries that they say could open up a range of different materials for further research. The group has high hopes that the discovery can quickly be brought to scale, easing some of the growing concerns around supply chains for battery materials.

Green hydrogen demand and electrification could drive a solar boom in the nation, according to the chief executive of a developer sitting on 4 GWp of photovoltaic projects.

The use of ultrasonic sound waves has been applied to battery recovery. Researchers from the ReLiB project at the U.K.’s Faraday Institution say the process has already proven to be 100 times faster than conventional approaches. It is also much more sustainable and less energy intensive.

LNJ Bhilwara has set up a joint venture with India’s Replus Engitech to create lithium battery solutions for e-mobility and stationary applications. The venture aims to have 1 GWh of capacity operational in the city of Pune by mid-2022, with plans to eventually scale it to 5 GWh by 2024.

The bloc’s latest two bonds were oversubscribed more than 11 times yesterday as the European Commission announced the results of a second fundraising round which already puts the EU almost halfway to the €80 billion it intends to generate through such instruments this year.

Innovations in green hydrogen are developing at a fast pace. This presents new questions like where are the markets, how fast will they come, how can we ensure hydrogen is green and cost-efficient, and what needs to be considered by project developers when planning related business models? And, at the end, will there be an opportunity for market players coming from the solar sphere? Watch our final Roundtable Europe video to find out.