Global daily round-up: Israel set to import solar power from Jordan and a hydrogen deal for South Holland
Plus, some 5 GW of solar could be heading to Botswana and Namibia and news of a new automotive fuel cell building in Ulm, Germany.
Simpliphi predicts cobalt-free battery takeover sooner than expected
pv magazine spoke with Catherine Von Burg, CEO of the Californian battery company, to discuss why she believes lithium-iron-phosphate is the chemistry of the near future.
The weekend read: Coming around
Given the number of batteries (primarily lithium-ion) that are required to decarbonize the power and mobility sectors, the industry is now preparing for a mountain of battery waste. Recycling is technically feasible, but is also subject to sensitive economics. The framework in which recycling companies can achieve the best life-cycle costs for batteries needs to be carefully enabled through policy – and it will likely include a mixture of technologies and business models, in order to allow life-cycle emissions of batteries to be brought down.
Japan’s struggle to drive down renewables costs
A nation famous for high electricity prices has seen power costs fall 15% this year, according to analyst Wood Mackenzie, a figure which will help attract $100 billion of solar and wind investment to 2030. Renewables will have to work even harder, however, to displace fossil fuels in hydrogen production.
A battery chemistry schism is imminent
A report from Wood Mackenzie predicts lithium-iron-phosphate will overtake lithium-manganese-cobalt-oxide as the dominant stationary energy storage chemistry within the decade.
Photovoltaic blinds to improve greenhouse energy performance
A Swedish-Iranian research team modeled 14 photovoltaic blind configurations in checkerboard arrays 1m above a greenhouse roof emulated with EnergyPlus building energy simulation software. The group found a PV installation would reduce natural gas consumption, electricity demand and carbon emissions.
New membrane promises cheaper electrolysis
A novel anion exchange membrane has been developed by German chemical company Evonik. Its creators claim it can make hydrogen generation cheaper, as the cells used for electrolysis featuring the device would not require precious metals.
Energy storage investment to approach $10bn in 2025
Analyst IHS Markit has predicted storage will rebound this year following its first year-on-year decline in 2019. The technology is being rolled out at pace despite Covid-19 with state-level policies set to keep the US the global capital for the next five years.
Aluminum energy storage coming to Abu Dhabi
Swedish start-up Azelio says it will have a pilot project up and running in Masdar City by the end of next month. The technology sees electricity used to super heat aluminum with energy released on demand via a heat transfer fluid to drive a Stirling engine.
Isle of Man tenders for 20 MW of solar and wind
The call is part of a government action plan for achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
