Energy Storage

Built by Korean oil provider SK Energy and the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the “Energy Super Station” is equipped with 20kW of solar panels and 300kW of fuel cell stacks. It can refuel conventional combustion vehicles as well as electric vehicles and fuel cell cars.

The 22 nations which have had their “recovery and resilience” spending plans approved by the European Commission are set to devote billions to clean energy facilities, with the cash set to be disbursed in three payments to the end of next year.

A consortium of developers led by ACWA Power has secured financing for the Red Sea project, on the west coast of Saudi Arabia, which is set to feature a 320MW solar array and a 1.3GWh off-grid battery.

The realization of biodegradable batteries is a step closer thanks to research from South Australia’s Flinders University, which has developed a 2.8V organic polymer battery. While this battery was made from synthetic polymers, research lead Zhongfan Jia told pv magazine Australia the team’s future iterations will source “materials directly from nature” saying this promises to reduce waste and reliance on mined materials and could have novel applications in fields like biotech.

Michigan’s Our Next Energy (ONE) said it will use the funding led by BMW to accelerate R&D and build a US manufacturing facility.

Luminous has revealed its new Li-ON series 1250 inverter with integrated lithium-ion battery. It offers a compact, safe, plug-and-play power backup solution for retail and domestic applications.

Developed by Germany-based hydrogen specialist Enapter, the EL 4.0 electrolyzer is based on a patented anion exchange membrane (AEM) technology. Commercial production is currently being prepared at the company’s Italian plant and the first shipments should be made in the summer.

Researchers from the University of Waterloo, Canada, have developed a new solid chloride electrolyte that swaps out half of the indium for scandium and offers several important advantages, such as high voltage operation.

WiTricity has unveiled plans to develop wireless charging stations for select electric vehicle models.

Elsewhere, Chinese researchers have synthesized ultrafine Pd100-xCux nanodot-modified TiO2 photocatalysts that display optimized energy barrier for interfacial hydrogen desertion, which reportedly exhibits excellent H2-evolution activity and stability, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has presented its plans to establish the Takasago Hydrogen Park, calling it the world’s first center for validation of hydrogen-related technologies, from hydrogen production to power generation.