Technology

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed a scalable bulk energy storage solution with inexpensive, abundant precursors – cement, water, and carbon black. Their supercapacitors have high storage capacity, high-rate charge-discharge capabilities, and structural strength.

Sono Motors has equipped its first bus with its PV retrofit solution, featuring 16 semi-flexible rooftop solar modules to feed 1.4 kW of output into the vehicle’s battery system.

A research group in the United States has developed a process to recover lead in its metallic form so that it can be reused in the PV industry. The process relies on a leaching solution based on a combination of acetic acid (CH3COOH) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), which the researchers said leaches the lead ‘in a matter of minutes.’

Scientists in Korea have built a light-emitting diode (LED) facade that can be used in combination with building-integrated PV, with minimal power loss caused by shading. The grid-type LED display can be used as a media façade in buildings making PV power generation more aesthetically appealing.

Brookfield’s bold ambitions for Australia have reached a new level, with the global asset manager signing an agreement with India-based Reliance Industries to explore the production of solar panels, long-duration battery storage, and other renewable energy equipment.

The Mango Power M includes a hybrid inverter with 18 kW solar input and can be paired with an electric vehicle charger.

Scientists in the United States developed an innovative method to observe the inner workings of lithium-ion batteries and found that cracks which form in the electrode – something manufacturers do their best to minimize – may actually have benefits in allowing for faster charging. The work also challenges assumptions on how certain particles behave inside a battery, with potential consequences for their future design.

Sineng Electric says it will build a new factory in China’s Jiangsu province, while Huasun says it has commissioned 3 GW of bifacial heterojunction cell production capacity in Anhui province.

Shanghai University scientists have started researching molybdenum-doped nickel-cobalt phosphide catalysts for hydrogen production, and Indian scientists have devised a method to produce hydrogen from methanol.

With the rapid growth in electric vehicle (EV) demand bringing fears of a mountain of EV battery waste piling up further down the line, the EU-Swiss government-funded Recirculate program is planning how to keep batteries in use for much longer before they head to recyclers.