Strategic Alliances

Under a new partnership, Sonnenstromfabrik is expanding its solar module manufacturing operations in Germany with the addition of a new 300MW line. It will use REC Group’s patented split cell and junction box technology in its new PERC products.

The EU’s executive body will supply €10 million to the European Battery Academy program launched in Brussels yesterday which aims to train the 800,000 battery workforce it has been estimated will be required in three years’ time.

In battery storage, there is no silver bullet chemistry type and as we move towards more ambitious decarbonization goals, room is being made for diverse systems. As an old technology with new vitality, zinc-based batteries are edging closer to commercialization, leveraging their unique ability to be configured for short and long duration operation. They are safer, longer lasting and, in some cases, reportedly up to 50% cheaper than lithium-ion batteries and, following recent game-changing advances, the prospects for zinc look much more exciting. pv magazine sat down with the manager of the newly established, global Zinc Battery Initiative, Josef Daniel-Ivad, to discuss the technology’s market position and developments.

The European Commission wants to introduce legislation to back semiconductor research and to address the immediate problem of supply chain bottlenecks by drumming up more than €43 billion, with member states and the private sector expected to contribute.

The InterContinental Energy company behind two proposed green hydrogen megaprojects in Western Australia – the 26GW Asian Renewable Energy Hub and the 50GW Western Green Energy Hub – has received the backing of Singapore’s US$744 billion sovereign wealth fund GIC.

Masdar will explore the development of 1.2GW of solar and potential storage projects in Indonesia for export to Singapore.

Through this operation, the French investment firm wants to help Ikaros Solar further develop its 300MW solar project pipeline.

The German clean power company and Huhtamaki have signed a 10-year deal that will ensure the construction of two solar farms in southern Spain with an aggregate generation capacity of around 135 MWp.

The partners behind a JV aiming to develop a lithium conversion factory in Portugal say Iberia could supply enough geological feedstock spodumene to produce 700,000 EV batteries per year, starting in 2026.

Vilnius-headquartered Solitek is preparing to ramp its output next year on the back of rising orders in Scandinavia, and says its new partnership with New York-based Convalt Energy will reduce its dependence on Asian semiconductors and solar cells.