Strategic Alliances

At the Agrivoltaics2023 conference in France this week, companies such as solar developers and mounting system suppliers called for a more central role for agriculture, amid ongoing legislative and commercial developments. However, uncertainties remain over the next steps European countries might take to drive such initiatives.

As the European Union launches the first pilot auction this week, it also announces it will double down in spring, while also supporting a collaboration with Brazil for the construction of a production facility to be used in Croatia.

Statkraft used actual production data from wind and solar farms in Spain to study the feasibility and bankability of hydrogen projects. For a 1 MW electrolyzer to achieve a 40% utilization rate, five times more solar capacity would be needed, it said.

The US Department of Energy has allocated $7 billion for seven Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs (H2Hubs) to deploy commercial-scale clean hydrogen, while the Mission Possible Partnership, RMI, Systemiq, Power2X, and industry leaders have set up the Transatlantic Clean Hydrogen Trade Coalition (H2TC) to ship US clean hydrogen to Europe by 2026.

With metropolitan-borough and city councils in England and Wales already driving decarbonization initiatives, local government bodies could do so much more if given adequate powers and funding.

Hitachi Energy has delivered a modular solution to electrify a 20 MW electrolyzer to produce hydrogen to heat steel before rolling, while Enapter has unveiled its AEM electrolyzers for industrial and refuelling pilot projects.

BloombergNEF Senior Analyst Jenny Chase and Aurora Energy Research Renewables Lead Rebecca McManus speak with pv magazine about financial market trends for solar companies and the role of overcapacity as a driver of turbulence in the industry.

OPES Solar Mobility, a joint venture between solar module specialist OPES Solutions and a German family office, is creating manufacturing capacity with its own technology in Germany to provide specific support to the transportation industry.

French researchers have identified a number of potential social issues that may arise as North Africa develops its significant hydrogen potential, while the European Commission has released the details of its pilot auction for European renewable hydrogen production.

The European Commission and the European Investment Bank have agreed to collaborate with Argentina, Chile and Uruguay on hydrogen, while Masdar, Mitsubishi and Inpex have said that they will use green hydrogen to produce e-methane and polypropylene.